Little Hermione
by sunriseshades
Summary: Hermione is regressed into a four year old by a potion gone wrong. Grimmauld Place is the only safe place for her to stay whilst a cure is made, there she is taken care of Remus and Sirius.
1. Neville's mistake

Potions lessons that involved both Gryffindor and Slytherin students were always tense, and that morning was no different. There seemed to be an invisible line that divided the red and green ties, the only form of communication they shared were insults, and Severus Snape found it highly amusing. He had set the fifth years on a task to create an ageing potion that, once taken, should increase one's age by ten years. He did it specifically so that any of his students whom considered marrying one of their peers, would face what they would look like in a decade, he much enjoyed playing God in his students lives.

"Very well" he stood from his chair and slowly began evaluating the colours forming in the cauldrons, all seemed well. "Take one spoonful each, if you take any more you will be stuck as a twenty five year old" he lied- an increase in portion would merely increase the affects to twenty years, but he didn't wish to deal with that in his classroom.

Slowly each student began to hesitantly consume the potion, and their faces screwed in pain as their gangly limbs became muscular and in proportion, some began to clap and cheer as their acne disappeared, Lavender Brown let out a cry of aggravation and Snape could only guess that it was because her flat chest had barely changed at all.

"um... Professor" came the ever nervous voice of Neville Longbottom, Snape turned on his heel, nose already upturned in annoyance.

"Yes" he answered slowly, he enjoyed watching as the now 6 foot boy looked even more awkward in his body than usual.

"Hermione... she's gone... I - I made her disappear" his low voice cracked in fear as the Potions Master's eyes went black

"You did what ?!" He demanded sharply, taking long strides to the desk that Mr Longbottom had shared with Miss Granger, in the girl's place were her robes, which lay in a heap on the stone floor. For a blind moment Snape was at a loss for words. How could a boy born to such incredibly gifted parents be incompetent enough to vanish a girl from an ageing spell? Then a small, solemn whimper could be heard coming from the disregarded cloth on the floor, and a lump that slowly grew made itself known until a stark naked child appeared, causing shrieks of manic laughter. Snape would have laughed cruelly at the bazaar situation, however now that a Professor Umbridge had been sent from the Ministry to spy on Hogwarts and its inhabitants, he realised it would not exactly look appropriate if he and his students were seen snickering at a naked toddler.

"Granger" he demanded the girl's attention, "are you in any pain?"

His worst fears were confirmed when the brunette merely stared at him in fear. He could feel a headache forming in the front of his temple, it seemed that the potion had regressed Granger's mental abilities too. He kneeled down and quickly wrapped the too-big robes round the child and guided her in the direction of the door.

"Silence!" He barked at his students, who were chattering loudly, he felt the little child jump slightly and mentally cursed himself "You will work in complete silence until I return from taking Miss Granger to the hospital ward" he softened his tone only slightly before striding in the direction of help.

Minerva McGonagall had a headache; school had only begun two weeks ago yet the scrutinising gaze of a particular pompous pink squeaking ministry worker brought an awful prescience and pressure on her shoulders, thus why she had decided to take a stroll through the corridors and ensure that Professor Umbridge was not seeing things she shouldn't.

"Morning Severus" she said instinctively, having seen the billowing black robes from the corner of her eye, a small bundle of brown curly hair followed him and for a few more steps Minerva thought nothing of it, until she remembered that Professor Flitwick was teaching, as should Snape be! She retraced her steps until she was standing opposite the Potion's Master, and glanced at - yes, it was a child- scandalously.

"Severus, is that a child you have with you?" she could barely keep the shrill tone in her voice from escalating.

"No Minerva, I told Filius to try some anti-wrinkle cream and it seems to have worked wonders" He answered in his usual sarcastic drawl

"Don't get sharp with me Severus!" Occasionally she could not help but see her colleague as the student he once was to her, and it still felt odd when he spoke to her in such a casual manner. "Where did you get her?" yet before he could answer, she crouched so that she was eye level with the little girl, who looked positively terrified, "and what is your name, wee one?" she asked in her softest voice. The child looked hesitant, and waited a few moments before answering,

"Hermione"

McGonagall froze, and slowly stood until she was staring straight in Snape's pained eyes.

"Severus, are you telling me that somehow Hermione, MY Hermione has been regressed to a child?" Her tone was deathly calm, as she did not wish to frighten the child.

"Blame Mr Longbottom, he is responsible for making a royal mess of what should have been a simple potion" he said sharply, "I was attempting to solve the issue by taking her to Poppy"

"In nothing but robe that is far too big?!" Minerva half shrieked, however seeing the little Hermione begin to tremble, she wavered, "Hermione, come here sweet heart, we're going to make you better" she said, taking the infant in her arms. It felt rather odd to be holding such a small child, as she had not done so in many years, however the impressionability of the little one brought out something that could only be described as maternal instinct.

"Am I sick?" Hermione asked in a solemn voice, it was clear she had the same maturity from a young age from how her hazel coloured eyes filled with knowledge.

"No sweetheart, not exactly, but it's time to visit a very lovely nurse"

"In all my years: never have I heard of such a thing happening, the- the ingredients are completely different in regression spells!" Madam Pomphrey vented as she wracked through her cupboards of medicine. By this point, Albus had been informed of the incident and the four adults remained in the hospital wing with a rather helpless child, who had not relaxed in the fifteen minutes that she had been there.

"Severus, surely you know of a potion to aid Miss Granger?" The headmaster said in his ever relaxed, light tone as he sat next to the child on the hospital bed and placed an arm round her shoulders.

"I do know of one, but it must take months to make at least" Snape drawled

"B-but Hermione has her O.W.L.S this year!" Minerva fretted

"she's years ahead of her peers, you know what Minerva" Dumbledore responded easily, before turning to the child who was gazing up at him in wonder, "say Hermione, you wouldn't happen to know how old you are, my dear?" he asked kindly

"Four" she said with a hint of pride in her voice,

"she must be confused. Hermione turned 15 but a week ago, the potion was made to regress her by ten years" Minerva pointed out,

"ah" He never thought he would have to share this, and dearest Minerva was likely to be more than irked that she was kept in the dark, "Miss Granger was placed ahead of her year at her primary education, thus making her a year younger than her current peers"

Snape raised an eyebrow, and McGonagall flailed her long arms in the air as a means of exasperation, "did you ever think to tell me this Albus? That one of my Cubs was a year younger, so that I could keep an extra eye on her! What about on her first year? She was only ten!" The head of Gryffindor House seemed horrified.

"You know as well as I do how mature our Hermione is, she handles herself well" Dumbledore was about to continue when he felt someone tug at his sleeve, and he turned to face the small child with only kindness written in the lines of his face.

"Excuse me" she said in her polite, childlike tone, "are you Father Christmas?"

All the adults in the room shades looks of amusement at the little Hermione's innocence. Any responsible, mature man in his right mind would respond honestly, and say that they were not Santa, that Santa lived in the North Pole. Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore was neither of these things, at least not today, and his blue eyes twinkled from behind his moon spectacles, and he gave a cry of utter elation,

"How clever you are! Why, I am as a matter of fact!" He scooted closer to the girl, who was looking up at him as if he held the answers to the universe, and clung to every word he said, "So you must tell me Hermione, what do you want for Christmas?" He smiled, enjoying as his student's usually serious face broke into one of innocent thought, "A cat please, if it's not too much trouble, and a letter explaining to mother and father that we must keep the cat under any circumstanceses" she stumbled on the long word but remained oblivious, "or maybe...maybe Magic the cat so it goes invisible 'cept I can see him" she suggested rather solemnly

"I will do my very best to get you a cat as soon as I can, one which you can call your own" the old wizard promised.

"And on the topic of mummy's and daddy's?" Snape prompted, and the Headmaster sighed.

"she cannot return to her home in this state. You see, soon her brain will begin to flicker and struggle against the sudden changes, she will begin to remember things that have happened to her, and at one point I wouldn't be surprised if she saw the future"

"The future, Albus? You must be joking"

"I am quite serious, Severus" he deliberately looked straight into the eyes of those around him, "The mind will stretch and constrict again, and whisky of course the future may change, met mind will play images of things that have not yet happened" he said gravely, and we cannot risk the chance of muggles hearing any ghastly event that takes place here"

"maybe they should, maybe they should take her away from the castle, from the war before it's too late" Minerva spoke semi seriously as she sat on the other side of her favourite student and brought her closer to her instinctively.

Albus sighed, "it's already too late, as much as it pains me to admit. Ronald and Harry very much depend on Hermione, and will not make it without her"

"So where will she go?" Asked Minerva almost accusingly, the question caught Hermione's attention also, and she looked with great interest as to what the adults were saying.

"There is only one place safe enough"

Mr and Mrs Weasley bustled into Hogwarts castle as soon as they could, and strode through the familiar corridors of their teenage years until they arrived at Albus Dumbledore's office. Immediately they spotted her, the charming, intelligent girl they had known for five years, was now barely 40 inches tall and staring idly at the grand case of books the old wizard kept.

"Oh Hermione!" Molly couldn't help gasp, she was so little! It had been such a long time since any of her kids had been so small, and she remembered that stage of their life with a mournful smile. Hermione, however, was looking slightly alarmed, and stood as if she were ready to run away should she need to.

"My name is Molly, you know me but might not remember me quite yet" The plump red head woman confessed, and Hermione nodded slowly. Arthur had already begun to talk about contracts and guardianship laws with Albus, and it had been specified that Hermione was not to leave Grimmauld Place for long, she was already known by Voldemort and his followers as a friend of Harry Potter's and could easily be used as bait. Molly shuddered at the thought.

"Where am I going?" Hermione asked innocently, "can't I stay with Santa?"

Both the Weasley's chuckled, before Albus began to explain,

"My dear girl, I have much work to do before Christmas, it's only a few months away you know! So you're going to stay with two dear friends of mine, and if you're good, you may even get you Christmas present early" he winked.

"I'll be good! I promise!" Hermione said eagerly, making the adults smile.

"Ensure she spends time with Remus and Sirius, won't you? I imagine they both need cheering up" Dumbledore confessed as he guided his guests to the grand fire place that resided on the left wall. Molly nodded, holding the child so her weight rested against her hip, although doubted she could fulfil such a demand- Remus possibly, but Sirius... Sirius was a wild card, certainly not someone she wished to influence such a young mind.

"Why are we standing in the fire place?" Hermione's voice was distinctively nervous

"This is called the Floo Network, Hermione" Arthur replied enthusiastically, "it's a way of transportation"

She nodded, but didn't sound too sure.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt a bit" Molly assured her, with one hand she grabbed a large amount of green sand like powder.

"bye Santa!" she exclaimed with a sudden burst of confidence

"Good bye Hermione, remember to be good"

Yet Santa's words were soon lost in a swirl of luminous green flames, and Hermione clung to Mrs Weasley instinctively, the whirling and loud noise went in for barely three seconds before they came to an abrupt halt, and once Hermione was placed on the floor again she felt quite dizzy. The blurry dark colours and somewhat dismal green furniture seemed to blend into the off white walls, and it smelled of smoke. The door that presumably led to a hall was open, and, after looking at Mrs Weasley for permission she slowly made her way into the dim, narrow corridor. Somewhere in the distance a door slammed, making her jump, but then to Hermione's horror, two small curtains pulled open revealing a pale, beaky woman who instantly began to screech at the top of her voice,

"MUDBLOOD! FLITHY MUDBLOOD IN MY HOME! DISGUSTING"

Hermione covered her ears, not fully believing that a picture could talk! She felt herself being lifted by strong arms and carried quickly to the front door of the house, before hand a passage appeared revealing a pitch black orb. Suddenly frightened, Hermione squirmed in her captors arms, "shhh" a voice whispered in her ear, "pretend you didn't just hear what my mother just said wont you Hermione?" he asked, for her shrieking could still be heard in the distance. "I have her!" The man shouted in the direction to the now closed door. The man was still holding her tightly, and she felt incredibly confused.

"how do you know my name?" Hermione asked almost indignantly

"You've stayed here at my house before, twice actually"

"Mm" The child was clearly dissatisfied with the information she had been provided with, and she felt her confusion rise in intangible clouds of smoke in her head.

"What's your name?" she asked

"I'm Sirius"

"Sirirus, no ... um"

"you can call me padfoot" he said in a kinder tone. It was rather amusing to see the generally all knowing teenager Hermione in the form of a young infant.

"Where's Molly?" she asked accusingly

"She's going to get that nasty lady to be quiet" the man said

"your mum?"

"that's the one"

"why is she trapped in a painting?" she asked innocently, she didn't understand why he began laughing, slowly they began lowering the stairs, and Hermione clutched at the man's collar for fear of him dropping her.

"She was very mean and needed to be punished and so the Universe decided to trap her in a painting forever" he said solemnly.

"...where are you taking me?"

"To a group of very nice people, who knew you before but you don't remember" He informed her, and she felt his hand reach for a door handle. She didn't like this, she didn't want to meet more people and she was very, very confused.

She was brought into a very bright, long room with faded orange walls and a rectangular table consuming most of the space, and most fearfully of all there were many, many people watching her.

"Introducing Hermione jr" Sirius joked, and she didn't understand that either. Thank fully Mr and Mrs Weasley came into the room, at least they knew her.

"careful Sirius, you're going to overwhelm her" said a man from the far end of the table. Hermione said nothing, but kept her eyes wide and made sure to note everyone's appearances.

"Why don't you take her Moony?" Again Hermione felt herself moving in quick strides, to he passed to another person that she didn't know.

"Sirius I never meant that-" Lupins pleas were interrupted by the small girl that he could easily identify to be his star pupil Hermione Granger. It was rather odd to see her in such a state, and the confusion and fear in her young eyes pained him.

"I don't know who you are" Hermione whispered nervously, and he could see the emotion building up in her eyes.

"I know you don't sweet heart. My name is Remus" he said calmly, watching as she nodded slowly, and also how her chest rose in an irregular rhythm and her pupils displayed in panic as she's slowly looked at those around her. It was an outright foolish idea to bring her to Grimmauld Place, where the most commotion went on. "Hermione" he said quietly, but her wide eyes met his in an instant, "do you want to go upstairs?" he asked, and she nodded quickly. Somehow he found himself holding the child close as she buried her face in his chest, Molly and Tonks were positively beaming in their seats, but Lupin did not care to look.

"Keep quiet or you'll wake the portrait" he whispered, the last thing she needed was another racial attack. He decided to take Hermione to the music room, which had only a sofa, a book shelf and a rusting piano in its walls. He partially closed the door and carefully sat on the ugly green sofa (Sirius's mother had awful taste) only to find that the little girl still clung to him. "You can let go, there's no one else here" he told her with a slight smile, she slowly sat up and looked around the room with the same curiosity he saw in Hermione when he first met her, back when she was thirteen.

"Hermione, has anyone explained to you what's happened?" he asked her carefully

"Santa explained a bit, but I didn't understand and was too scared to ask again" she admitted, he laughed at the Headmaster being seen as Father Christmas, admittedly he did look the part, but mentally sighed at how the child had been kept in the dark. This was Hermione after all, she was incredibly intelligent and devoured information like air.

"Well" he began, "a few hours ago you were at secondary school, you were fifteen. But a potion went wrong and that's why you're a four year old again" he explained slowly, he could practically here her little brain ticking away at the information.

"I was fifteen?" she exclaimed, as if it were the most magical age to be, "that's old!" her eyes however, were filled with glitters of curiosity. "And- and I went to big school?!"

"Yes, you went to big school, you're top of the class" Remus was glad to inform her, and her face filled with joy,

"me?" she squealed, utterly delighted, and Remus couldn't help but match her joy, yet there was another question that needed to be answered.

"Hermione, what was the last thing you remembered before being at the castle?" he asked, looking directly at her.

"I- I don't know" she said, seeming rather troubled by the fact.

"you know who your mummy and daddy are don't you?" he encouraged, fingers crossed that the potion hasn't altered those parts of her memories.

"Yes" Hermione answered fairly quickly, but looked troubled again.

"And how do you feel... about today?" he asked in a therapist like tone, the little Hermione tugged at the sleeves of her shirt and shrugged. He could hardly blame her, it was a lot for anyone to deal with in one day, let alone a four year old.

"It's okay to feel scared" he comforted. He had remembered when, after her near death experience (which was his fault) he had asked how she felt, she had shrugged it off, and even after Harry had openly admitted he had been terrified, Hermione had insisted that she was fine.

Before they could continue their conversation, Mrs Weasley stuck her head through the gap of the door and informed them that it was time for supper.

Hi guys, I know a lot of you liked the Remus and Sirius chapters with Hermione in my other story so I thought I would dedicate a fluffy mess to you all, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know! x


	2. Accidents

Fluffy 2

"Remus?" Hermione began nervously, clutching at his trouser leg. Lupin found it highly amusing and rather odd that little Hermione was not now running far from him and his scarred features, "yes?" he promoted as they sat around the newly emptied table. Hermione scooted as close as she could to him before whispering, "is everyone here invisible, am _I_ invisible?" she asked in such a serious tone that Lupin burst out laughing, something he did not do often.

"No Hermione, you are not invisible, I can see you quite well. What makes you think we are invisible?" he asked curiously, the girl pointed to the spit next to where Mrs Weasley was sliding strays out of the oven, where kitchen knives were being washed in mid air by a well known charm.

"Ah- well it's magic" he revealed, looming up briefly as Sirius sat down.

"Magic!" Little Hermione gasped, there was something about the innocent wonder in the child's voice and in her actions that made Remus want to tell her everything, read her every book in the world just to see the single bit of magic that gleaned in her young eyes.

However, she was careful to thank Molly once her food was served and even waited until everyone else had gotten their good before gingerly tucking into the pasta.

"Right" Said Molly briskly, hanging up her apron, "we'll be off. Boys, if you need anything, just Floo in - I won't mind. Hermione dear" she said warmly, "if you need me in the night you just wake Sirius or Remus, okay? Good girl" she planted a kiss on Hermione's forehead, bade them al, good night, and disappeared along with her husband.

"So Hermione, what do you like to do?" Sirius asked conversationally, however a hint of mischief rested in his eyes and he was no doubt savouring the information he gathered for four year old Hermione in order to taunt 15 year old Hermione when she returned.

"um...I like colouring...I like picture books...I can _spell_ by the way" she bragged, and a grin broke out on Sirius's unshaven face,

"you can spell, can you?" he said, not unkindly, "you might have to help Padfoot out with some of his spelling"

"oh it's easy, you have to think about what the letters sound like -" Hermione babbled on for quite a while, gradually becoming more animated and relaxed, and it made Remus smile. Hermione had the tendency to stop suddenly when speaking and apologise, as if she had wasted someone's talking so enthusiastically about a subject she enjoyed, and after a chat with Ron Weasley he had learned that it was the work of Severus and his determination to lower the girl's confidence- the bastard.

Lupin's head turned an caught a glimpse of a small post-it on the fridge, highlighted in yellow were the words _: Bed before 9 ! Pyjamas in new room ._ He cringed as the grandfather clock read 9:15, however he was determined to give this parenting thing a good shot. "Hermione" he said slowly, "it's getting very late, and I think it's time to go to bed" he was testing the waters, seeing how she'd react. Thank fully, she nodded in agreement

"This is your room" he said, showing her the room she had shared with Ginny just a few weeks ago, it had been hastily put together, with only one bed against the left wall and a few drawers along the wall of the door.

"All for me?" Hermione gasped

"All for you" Remus confirmed, double checking for any mould that may have re grown in the upper corners of the room. Sitting by the wall with the window were too very big cardboard boxes that Remus presumed were some of Ginny's old clothes for Hermione.

"Come and you can pick what pyjamas to wear" He said, he and Hermione began slowly working through the abundance of material.

"how about these?" Remus suggested, holding a white top with long sleeves and a cartoon rabbit on the front, with matching white trousers. Hermione nodded. "do you know how to dress yourself?" he asked

"uh huh" she answered proudly and instantly began to undress, Remus turned around to give her some privacy. "finished!" she said after a few moments. He must confess that little Hermione did look utterly adorable and even younger than she already did.

"The bathroom is just across the hall" he reminded her as she climbed into bed.

"Remus..." she began slowly, "could you read me a bed time story?"

He paused and looked at her quickly, she was so little, and it _had_ been a very long day for her. Yet he was confused as to why is mauled appearance hadn't scared her, as she looked up at him trustingly. "of course, I'll have a look at what we have" he found himself saying, he doubted very much that there was a children's book in the house- until he spotted the corners of a very brightly colours book poking out of the box of clothes, clever Molly for thinking to bring a book!

"How does Goldilocks and the three bears sound?" he asked, the title was foreign on his tongue- perhaps it was a muggle story.

Hermione nodded, and he sat atop the covers next to her. To his surprise, she snuggled closer to him and rested her head on his upper arm. He didn't know how to react. No child had ever shown him so much affection or shown that they were comfortable being around him.

"Once upon a time..."

After only a few minutes the four year old was fast asleep, still with her head against him trustingly, and he smiled briefly but then frowned- it was wrong to allow little Hermione to like and trust him, even if she would forget about it when she was healed- he was a monster and certainly did not deserve the luxury of a sweet child's affection. He gently eased the sleeping child off of him and made his way to the door, checking only once that she was still sleeping before turning the light off and returning downstairs to where Sirius was most likely crying over a glass of firewhiskey.

Hermione was frightened. She _hated_ the dark, and yet she had woken up surrounded by it alongside a painful confusion. She was almost positive she had met Santa that day, and had traveled through a fireplace, and met the man who carried her down the stairs and the kind man called Remus who had been extra extra nice to her, where was he now? Although there was a more pressing matter at hand- she desperately needed the toilet, she wasn't sure where the bathroom was, and she had seen there were _many_ floors and rickety stairs cases and a woman trapped in a painting who screamed lots. She shivered as she imagined waking the entire house up, they would be so _angry_ at her, and they would shout! She really didn't want that, but she also didn't want to have an accident- that would make them angry too. Mustering up all her courage, she slid out of bed and walked blindly through the room she didn't recognise until she was sure she was by the door.

Something growled.

She froze in terror, hoping she'd imagined the sound, yet it still rang clear in her ears- the low, annoyed growl from the other side of the door.

"Stay in your room" the croaky voice demanded. She let out a whimper and clamped her hand over her mouth. It must be a real life monster? Where was Remus and Padfoot? She _really_ needed the toilet, but if she left the room to face the monster is might hurt her! There could be shouting! Maybe Remus had made the monster walk the hall because he didn't want her to get out of bed either. She held her legs together nervously, trying to decide what to do.

Remus panicked when he heard a noise interrupt his sleep. Living through a war has that nasty affect on people, and he shot up, wondering where his wand was. A small sniffling sound from the side caught his attention, and he saw little Hermione standing by his bed with tear tracks staining her skin.

"D-don't be angry" she pleaded, her breath hitching in her throat

"What? no of course I won't be-" he paused once he noticed the distinctive wet patch on her trousers. She wiped a falling tear from her eye. "...angry" he finished, "it's okay sweetheart: accidents happen" He scooped her into his arms and headed to the bathroom.

"I- I didn't mean it. Th- there was a monster outside and I was t-too scared to go" she hurried to explain.

'Monsters? There are no monsters here" He said whilst accio- ing a clean pyjamas. That was false, there was a monster: him, but he doubted that Hermione was referring too.

"Th-there was! He was g-growling and told me to stay in my room" she said desperately, and he paused. Fuck, why hadn't he thought about Kreacher? It was an accident waiting to happen, and he could have saved the poor child a lot of stress.

"That was very mean of him, and I promise I'll be having harsh words with him" he told her, flicking on the bathroom light and kneeling down on the floor where she now stood, she slid out of her under wear and with one hand held his shoulder so she could balance enough to fit into the clean ones.

"Wh-what if he comes back?" she asked, horrified.

"He won't, I promise" He was holding her again, and heading out the bathroom.

"He might- if you're not there! P-please don't leave me!" her cries broke his heart, and the only thing he wanted was to see her content, even if it hadn't been plan a.

"Alright, you can sleep in my room okay?" he offered, she nodded, an old tear still slipping from her tired eyes. "No more tears" he said, brushing them away. He re- entered his bedroom and slid her under the covers before doing the same, the moment she could she snuggled close to him, her hands cold with fright, he held her close and listened to her steadying breaths.

"Th-thank you" she said in an exhausted sigh, her body relaxed against him, and he felt the tension roll off her.

"You're welcome, sleep now" he encouraged.

 **Your reviews make me so happy! Thank you so much guys I love you all!**


	3. Writing

Fluffy 3

Remus awoke groggily, and half expected to feel the small dip in his bed from where Hermione was previously sleeping, when he found he was alone: he panicked slightly.

Fortunately, the moment he entered the hall he could hear a happy, infectious laugh that could only belong to her. His heart expanded with relief and happiness to hear such a marvellous sound, and he padded down the stairs to see what was making Hermione so happy.

The sight that greeted him was one he thought he would never see: Hermione was sitting on Sirius's shoulders as he charged up the lower stairs, through the living room and drawing room, all throughout Hermione was laughing joyfully.

"Is this really what it looks like? Is Sirius Black up and awake before midday- on a Saturday too" Remus feigned surprise, and boyfriend rolled his eyes.

"We had to get up early to go on a monster hunt. Didn't we Hermione?" He said, looking up at the girl on his shoulders.

"Uh huh, we're gonna catch the monster Remus!" Hermione explained excitedly.

"That does sound fun" Lupin smiled, before speaking to Sirius in a lower tone, "so she told you about last night?"

He nodded, "it's about time I killed that little shi- annoyance" he corrected.

"Don't do anything to irrational, I don't want to scar Hermione by you killing a House Elf in front of her"

"Not in front of her! Merlin, what sort of parent would that make me, Moony?" He grinned and called loudly, "Kreacher! This is your last chance or I'll throw away my mothers-"

The stout, ugly House Elf appeared before them in the living room with a loud crack, and bowed ceremoniously. Sirius was having none of it, he grabbed the bat-eared beast by the neck and lifted him in the air angrily. Hermione, however, gasped in horror and slid down Sirius's back.

"Padfoot! Put him down, put him down!" She pleaded

"Hermione, this is the monster from last night. He needs a good telling off" Sirius explained kindly.

"No! He's one of santa's elves, Padfoot! You can't be mean to him!" The child demanded. Remus almost laughed, if it wasn't for the choking noises that Kreacher began to emit.

"He's just a house elf, Hermione love. They're meant to clean the house-"

"Santa will be very cross if you hurt one one of his elves! You won't get any presents!" By this point she had her hands on her hips and an angry expression much like the one she used to give the boys. Sirius sighed and dropped Kreacher, who landed with a dull thud on the wooden floor.

"You are one of santa's elves aren't you!" Hermione beamed, hugging the shell shocked house elf, who cringed against her touch and was about to screech, when Sirius said quietly enough for only him and Remus to hear, "that girl is the only reason I haven't sawed your head off with a kitchen knife, so I suggest you're kind to her".

Kreacher's foul expression lessened only slightly.

"Yess, whatever you say Miss" Kreacher muttered.

"That is so so cool! You get to work with Santa !" She exclaimed, "Do you like it there?"

"He does very much, but I think Kreacher is very tired and is in need of a little rest" Sirius prompted, his hand sliding to his elf's neck.

"Oh" she sounded disappointed, "bye Kreacher! Say hi to Santa from me" she said happily, the house elf nodded bleakly as Sirius dragged him out the room.

Remus sat on the armchair, it often took him a while to venture from the grasps of sleep and fatigue, and his bones still ached.

"Do you want me to make you breakfast? I make really good coco pops!" Hermiome said lightly, he assumed that was a type of muggle cereal even though it sounded like an awful disease.

"I'm alright thank you Hermione. Has Padfoot given you breakfast?"

"Uh huh, we had chocolate!"

"Chocolate for breakfast! Well aren't you lucky!" Remus humoured, he was glad to see that she seemed far calmer than the night before.

"Uh huh! And Padfoot let me ride on his back!" Hermione beamed. He was thankful that she was already dressed, and her curly hair tied in a messy make-do ponytail, at least if Molly came round later she wouldn't believe they were totally unfit to care for a four year old.

"Remus, what does that say?" She asked, pointing to a book that had been used as a a door stop for as long as anyone could remember. It was an incredibly thick and old volume, with faded sliver font that read, "1000 legal ways to discipline your child using magic"

"It...It says: the moon and stars" he fibbed, Hermione nodded to herself, "would you like to read with me?" he offered, grabbing a thin, less dismal book by his side. Her face positively lit up,

"again?!" she asked, taken aback, as if reading was a very rare privilege.

"of course. We can read whenever you like" He smiled simply, enjoying the look of utter glee that Hermione wore, and before he knew it Hermione had crawled into his lap and awaited eagerly for him to begin reading.

When Sirius returned to the living room, having dealt with Kreacher, he was greeted by a sight he had never expected to see: little Hermione was sitting comfortably in Remus's lap, who was reading aloud the passage of a novel. He couldn't help the surge of adoration he felt for his boyfriend, the very same feeling he had when he first fell in love with the peculiar wolf all those years ago in school. Remus would have made an excellent parent, despite his self doubt, it was always in his nature to be kind and helpful, and Sirius regretted the situation that had so savagely torn their lives apart.

"Having an afternoon read without me?" He said, pushing his regrets to the back of his mind he collapsed against the ancient black sofa.

"It's about flying ! And, and Quidditch!" Hermione informed, the word foreign on her tongue.

"Those are my favourite books" Sirius confessed.

"R-Remus is a very good reader"

"I think so to, he hasn't read aloud in a long time"

Sirius and Remus met each other's gaze and said nothing. Most of their relationship was built on a silent understanding of the soul destroying trauma that they had went through, words could rarely do justice.

"Well, shall we continue?" Remus interjected, and Hermione nodded.

They sat like that for an hour or so, and Hermione seemed to thoroughly enjoy listening to Remus read, which was hardly what they had expected for a four year old. However soon they had finished the book, and she promptly slid of his lap and watched the unlit fireplace for a moment, clearly remembering the day before.

"Can you teach me how to write?" she asked suddenly,

"When you were older you loved to write" Sirius noted, Hermione had been the main communication between both him, the Order and Harry. She always wrote the most thorough descriptions of the situation at Hogwarts, and carefully noted the wellness of the Weasley children, as well as Harry. Sirius had always been grateful for that, because his god son frequently forgot to write, which was understandable, but didn't mean he didn't worry constantly.

"I did? Was my handwriting pretty?" she asked

"The prettiest" he replied seriously, beginning to rummage through some cabinet drawers for a parchment and quill.

Remus sat by the table and pulled a chair back for Hermione sit herself onto to.

"What is that?" She quizzed, eying the matted feather of the quill. Sirius paused, having been raised in a magical family, he naturally considered quill's to be an everyday object, and could not for the life of him imagine what Muggles used.

"It's a type of pen" Remus said

"It looks very fancy!" Hermione said cautiously, and she stroked the feather curiously

"I promise it's not" Said Sirius, sitting on the chair beside her before winking at Remus from across the table. He feigned a cough but the upturned corners of his mouth and the crows feet by his eyes could not hide his mood.

"Have you ever been to...to pre school before?" Remus asked, hoping he had remembered the name correctly. Hermione shook her head, and he found it rather odd, he had assumed from the articulate way that old Hermione spoke that her parents were wealthy and respectable people that would wish the earliest possible education for their only child, then again perhaps they planned on homeschooling her for her primary education. "Never mind, I'll start by writing the alphabet then you can copy me, okay?" he did his very best to keep his small scribbles as clear as possible, and when he finished Hermione peered curiously at the letters, absorbing them. Once offered the quill she took it in an untrained hand and very slowly she dragged it across the page.

"That's brilliant, 'Mione, already better than my writing" Padfoot said earnestly, winking at her. Hermione let out a relieved and happy laugh as a warm blush crept up her neck. It was clear to Remus that the child had always been eager to please, and thrived on praise. He peaked over her shoulder and could see that indeed, her writing was surprisingly neat for someone of her age and experience, the letters of reasonable size and width too. She continued with the quiet determination that was not often seen in such young children, and once she finished she held it up proudly to them both, grinning widely.

"I'll see if I can make some space so I can frame it on the wall yeah?" Said Padfoot, he ruffled Hermione's hair adoringly as she began yelling her thanks.

"You have to sign it first, I'll show you how to write your name" Remus interrupted, and she climbed back onto the seat eagerly.

"How many letters does my name have?" she asked

"Eight" he answered, and she counted on her fingers.

"And what's my second name?"

"Granger"

"Granger..." she said softly, her eyes glassed over with thoughts and memories, potentially from when she was older.

"That's what your name looks like" Remus said, pointing to where he had written

"Its very big, my name, isn't it?" she observed

"Especially for someone so little" Sirius remarked

"I'm not little!" Hermione cried indignantly, she rose from her kneeling position on the chair and put to hands on her hips, "See, I'm taller than you Padfoot!"

"Fair point" He laughed, and she turned to begin writing her name.

True to his word, Sirius found a reasonable sized frame that held a 100 year old picture of his great grandfather, the picture itself was unceremoniously torn out and placed in the bin (all of this was done away from Hermione, who would likely grow very upset at the agonised screams of Arcturus Black) to be replaced by the page filled with Hermione's work.

"A-are you sure it's pretty enough" she fretted, biting her lip. Padfoot lifted her so she could her writing clearer and answered,

"It's definitely pretty enough, the prettiest writing I've ever seen" he said seriously, and she giggled happily, the sound seemed to force some of the happiness that had resigned within Remus's chest to disappear, leaving him with a feeling of senseless contentment.

They gave Hermione some more parchment and some pencils to draw with, and she sat atop the long table, completely absorbed in what she was doing.

"She's a sweet kid, isn't she?" Sirius noted, flicking absentmindedly through a cookery book as Remus did the actual cooking.

"Indeed. Handling it all very well"

"That's always been her thing though hasn't it? You know McGonagall gave her a time turner in her third year?"

Remus nodded, he had been annoyed that Minerva didn't inform him beforehand so he could be extra mindful of her behaviour in his lessons.

"Almost didn't believe it when Harry told me. And the night I met her, despite all that was going on, she knew exactly what spells to use, Ravenclaw mind she's got, but definitely Gryffindor" He added with a hint of pride in his voice

"Yes, I imagine it takes some bravery to cope whilst I am attempting to kill her" Remus replied bitterly, dropping some dried pasta in the pot.

"Moony, you know that's now what I meant-"

"I know. But still, look at her" both men turned their gazes to the small child in their care, who's head was bowed in concentration, "It's only been a day or so, and she trusts me"

"You're easy to trust. You've got that vibe about you mate. It's obvious to everyone but you"

Sirius interrupted, "and you have to put that incident at the back of your mind, be uses that Hermione has gone through a lot of shit, but she trusts you. You need to trust yourself"

Sorry for really short chapter, I didn't expect this to get that much attention but I've managed to sort out a proper plot and have the next few chapters sorted! sorry if my posts are slow I'm very busy with school at the moment. If there is anything that you would like to see in particular within this sorry feel free to let me know and I'll be sure to adjust accordingly. :)


	4. Princesses and Pirates

Hermione had asked in her usual polite but longing tone, that Padfoot took her to bed that night, as it was only fair. Sirius had been somewhat confused though honoured nonetheless, he had assumed Hermione preferred Remus over him- he still had those god awful tattoos on him and a rotting golden tooth that should have frightened her off, yet he found himself helping her change into pyjamas and tucking the duvet snugly around her.

"You're very nice, did you know that Padfoot?" Hermione said randomly,

"What makes you say that kiddo?" he asked, kneeling down by her bedside.

"Remus is nice too- you let me come stay with you guys and-" she yawned widely-"and read to me and teached me how to write" she thought for a moment, "why are you guys nice to me?"

Sirius paused, that was an incredibly odd question, even for Hermione's standard, also added to the fact that she was tired and not thinking clearly, yet he couldn't help but feel pained by the confused tone in her voice.

"well, why wouldn't we be?" he asked, she shrugged and yawned once more, however as if she was just remembering something important, she sat up and clutched Sirius's sleeve.

"I don't like the dark, can you keep a light on?"

"Of course, I'll leave the bathroom light on and keep your door open, no one will be angry if you get up in the middle of the night and go to the toilet okay? If you need anything my room is at the end of the hall, you might have to shout quite a bit if you need to wake me up" he grinned, and Hermione looked relieved, she then promptly wrapped her short arms around him and held tightly.

Sirius had not been hugged by anyone other than Remus in the past twelve years, the feeling of warmth and trust that comes with the act of affection reminded him painfully of his life before azkaban, he felt a rush of love that he had not felt in an incredibly long time, and he held the small girl close to him, never wanting to let go.

"Night Padfoot" she said

Goodnight Hermione" he said, planting a kiss atop her head.

The next morning the three sat down at breakfast at the same time, Remus felt it unfair to leave Sirius with Hermione all morning whilst he slumbered yet found it hard to keep his eyes open and was obliged to then make a strong coffee.

"No no no! Don't bang the spoon, you have to do it gently- like this" Hermione interjected, she had to stand on the given stool to reach the kitchen top and then demonstrate the appropriate way to stir a beverage. Seeing Remus's bemused expression, she expanded, "when you clatter the spoon it gives people very very sore heads"

"Hermione, what are you-?"

Sirius chocked back a laugh and asked, "who told you that?"

"father" she responded quite seriously, Padfoot chuckled and once the realisation that a once very hungover Mr Granger had once told his daughter that loud noises were the cause of his alcohol induced headache, a smile only briefly landed across Remus's stubbled face. He felt uncomfortable knowing that Mr Granger had possibly been drunk in Hermione's presence.

"How long does your father get headaches, Hermione?" he asked tactfully, yet she had already returned to the table and began a babbling about something or other.

Breakfast was then interrupted by the abrupt arrival of Dobby the House Elf, dressed in none other than a grass green coat and dangling hat with bells on it, he was holding a very grumpy looking crookshanks in his twig like arms.

"Miss Granger!" Dobby yelled elatedly, he remembered clearly the unusual kindness that (old) Hermione had shown him and his species, as well as the lengths she had gone too to ensure his wellbeing, and he had been more than willing to fulfill the duty that Professor Dumbledore had bestowed upon him.

Hermione gasped and thoughtlessly sprinted from her seat to where dobby stood, and patted crookshanks very gently.

"I have been sent by _the_ Father Christmas to give you and an early present due to you landing yourself on the Nice List!" Dobby announced the clearly rehearsed tale. Crookshanks hopped out of the elf's arms and towards Sirius, who scratched him behind the ear.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Hermione rushed, engulfing dobby in a hug. The last time the poor creature had been squeezed it was in the hopes of killing him, and he had seen how sometimes humans would hug one another in a term of affection, yet would never believe he was worthy of such an act, and found himself holding back tears as he wrapped I is so sly arms around Hermione tightly.

"You're most welcome Miss Granger!" the elf said happily

Soon Hermione brought her attention to the large ginger fur of Crookshanks, who was eyeing her carefully.

"He won't scratch will he?" she fretted

"of course he won't" Sirius assured, picking up his feline friend gently. He had missed the dear thing since Hermione had left in September, he shared an unspoken bond with the fellow animal ever since they had bonded two years ago in the search for Peter Pettigrew. The cat stared directly at him with those odd, amber eyes as if to enquire,"what is wrong with my human? She _smells_ like my human, only why is she kitten sized now?"

"Here" Sirius picked Hermione up onto his lap and placed her hand Crookshank's back, after a few minutes of coaxing, the four year old was soon hugging her pet tightly and planting kisses atop him.

Meanwhile Dobby was staring, enchanted, at the sweet child. He very much missed the days when Draco Malfoy was too small to dislike him, and instead would play hide and seek and such festivities within the grand mansion, the two had made unlikely friends- Dobby used to change Draco's soiled sheets and never ever tell Lucius, so that Draco wouldn't get beaten, and in return Malfoy had on occasion cared for particularly severe wounds that Dobby attained at the hands of Mr Malfoy. Yet those days of sweet companionship were tragically short lived, Dobby would be beaten for conversing with Draco, and Draco would have his toys taken away- Lucius would tell him that Dobby did it, until gradually the youngest Malfoy grew to hate his old friend. Dobby still spent many nights crying about it.

Remus watched the house elf watch Hermione, and recognised the longing in those golf ball eyes of his. "Hermione, why don't you show Dobby your writing? I'm sure he'd love to see it" he suggested,

"Yes Dobby lets play writing! I'll teach you how to spell my name!" Hermione buzzed with excitement, and it immediately past on tot the elf, oh how he had missed caring for a child. Leading him by the hand, the two left in a bubble of joy to the living room.

Padfoot, utterly consumed in his non verbal conversation with Crookshanks, jumped as the Daily Prophet was thrown at him by Remus.

"What exactly am I meant to be looking at?" Sirius asked, staring at the moving picture on the front page.

"page thirty six. About that woman Harry wrote to us about, Umbridge- the toad woman. I suspect a meeting will be arranged to discuss the complications of it" the wolf sighed. "This means the ministry is interfering with Hogwarts, and Umbridge has always been shady, suspected blood purist- and by suspected I'm assuming they mean die hard"

"Merlin, she's a sight for sore eyes" Sirius said disdainfully

"He carful with what you write to Harry; i don't doubt letters will be intercepted by the government, there are some things Dumbledore can't control"

It was at that moment the fire in the far corner cackled to life, slowly morphing into the face of-

"Kingsley!" 

"Padfoot. Remus" The ministry worker greeted, "there is an arranged Order Meeting at eight this evening, most members attending" he informed them.

"Right, I'll get the beers" The animagus joked, the fire-man only half smiled, and suddenly the unspoken yet heavy weight of growing danger pushed heavily onto them.

Dobby had returned to the "North Pole" much to Hermione's disdain, as she had drawn many pictures of her holding hands with the elf, a distinctive orange blob in the background. Once the evening drew in and voices could be heard rising from downstairs as they prepared for the meeting, Remus made sure to check on Hermione, who was in the drawing room.

"There's lots of people downstairs" she observed nervously, and to his surprise, as he sat down next to her she climbed onto his lap, seeking safety. He brushed a stray hair from her face.

"Not too many" he reasoned

"uh huh. Lots and lots" she nodded and looked out to the door way.

"They're very nice people though- they're my friends. You knew them-"

"when I was older. I know" she sighed, clearly that explanation did not help the confusion and fear that the four year old felt, Remus felt bleak.

"Anyway, it's time for you to be going to bed"

"I can't go to bed! Not when there are people downstairs!" Hermione exclaimed, mortified by the idea.

"We'll keep extra quiet"

"No, please don't go, don't go downstairs!"

"I'm not far! You can come and get me if you need"

"please" Hermione's voice was broken and sad, and it tore at his heart- he couldn't bare seeing her like that.

"okay, just this once, we'll get you changed into some pyjamas and you can play in the living room until the meeting is over, and then it's straight to bed" he said seriously, she nodded, eyes wide.

That night she sported some mismatched blue pyjamas, and Remus took her to the living room with a blanket in the other hand, knowing there was a fair chance she would fall asleep.

"Where's Tessa?"

immediately, from how her words fell and how her brown eyes were glassed over, Remus knew this was a stray memory from Hermione's previous childhood. He didn't know how to react.

"Who's Tessa?" he asked,

"Has she gone home?" she asked, and he realised his question had fell upon deaf ears.

"Yes, she's gone home" he said, and she nodded unsurely.

"You try and get some sleep okay? I'll be in the next room if you need me" she nodded again and he set her on the sofa, where she remained looking quite dazed. He decided it best to check on her in a few minutes- lest he miss the beginning of the meeting.

"so much for being stern" Padfoot joked as Remus sat beside him, it dawned on the wolf that Mad Eye had seen the occurrence and told the others.

"Unless you want to be the one to break that little girls heart and tell her to go to bed" Remus said pointedly, Sirius raised his hands as a sign of defence, and the meeting commenced.

It was laborious and tense. Plans unfolded and knowledge dropped of Voldemort's rise to power, thus the danger Harry was in. It all proved too much for Sirius, who smashed a glass against the wall and was shaking with fear and anger at the hopeless position he was in, Remus was the only one that could get through to him.

As Remus comforted his boyfriend, Moody, the eldest and most damaged, swivelled his fake eye so it penetrated through his own head and through the thick walls of the house to the living room, where a distinctively small figure was very much active. It was a very unique situation to be in, having known the girl as a teenager to be quite an extraordinary and promising young witch, and now to see her as a tiny child that was very much dependent on adults. His curiosity getting the better of him, he rose to his feet and trumped toward the hall.

"You expect me to try and scare her, do ya?" he turned sharply to Kingsley, who had followed him out the room.

"Of course not, old friend, I merely wished to see Hermione for myself" the tall, broad African stated honestly. Moody grunted.

"Be ready to catch her if she runs away screaming" he warned, referring to his mauled appearance that would likely frighten her. He pushed the door open.

Hermione was in the middle of the floor with a book as big as her laid out in front, and she scanned the pages as if she could read, when she saw the two men enter the room, she stood up immediately.

"Shouldn't you be asleep, little miss?" Moody said, easing himself into a wooden chair. Hermione stuck her thumb in her mouth a twisted a lock of her hair, eyeing them both.

"Where's Remus and Padfoot?" she asked

"still in the meeting, my dear" said Kingsley, she nodded, looked at them both for a moment longer before saying, "do you want to play a game?"

Moody's lips curled into a smile, whereas Kingsley's attractive face broke with a dazzling and genuine grin.

"What sort of game did you have in mind" he asked, Hermione thought for a moment

"Princess and Pirates" she said confidently

"Okay, princess Her-

"I'm not a princess! I'm the pirate! You two are the princesses!" She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Look, I even made you a tiara to wear, well a pretend one" she handed them two strips of paper with a crown drawn on it, jewels galore.

Moody looked at his with disdain, "I don't think I'm fit to be a princess" he said gruffly, about to out the paper down. Hermione caught his hand and looked mournful.

"W- was my crown not good enough?" she asked, on the brink of tears

"No I didn't mean-"

"I- I think it's a very pretty crown, even if it's pretend" she admitted quietly.

Moody groaned internally

Months later he would completely deny that he had in fact played "Princess and Pirates" for nearly an hour, using a high pitched voice just to see Hermione burst into fits of giggles. she was completely unbothered by Moody's ghastly appearance, nor had she enquired about his eye. After a while however, the child grew tired- it was obvious by how she reverted her behaviours into such that brought her comfort- thumb sucking, hair twisting etc.

"Are you sure you're not ready for bed?" Kingsley grinned, he had been highly entertained by Hermione all evening. She nodded and mumbled "not tired"

"Not tired? Even pirates need their sleep" he said gently, he grabbed the blanket on the sofa rest, wrapped it round her and plopped her next to him on the sofa.

"M not a pirate anymore, I'm a princess now" she said tiredly

"Well princess, it's been a long day has it not?"

she nodded, eyes already half closed.

"We can play again can't we?" she asked sleepily

"of course. Sleep now, child" he eased in his gravely voice. Hermione's features softened until she looked blissfully at peace.

 **I'm an awful author for not updating sorry guys**


	5. Meeting Snuffles and McGonagall

The meeting ended, and it's remaining members piled out to see Hermione fast asleep on Kingsley's lap.

"Merlin she's tiny! Are you sure that's normal?" Tonks pondered, scrutinising the child.

"shhhh! You'll wake her up!" Molly chided, crouching to stroke Hermione's head gently, "she's always been a slight little thing, hasn't she Arthur? Eats like a rabbit" she remembered always having to save Hermione some extra food at the table since her own children co summed it like they'd never eaten before.

"sorry about that mate, you can have your legs back now" Sirius grinned and took the small child in his arm, where her head lulled against his neck

"Nonsense, Hermione is a delightful child, should you ever need a baby sitter consider me" He winked, "I doubt I will ever see Mad Eye in a princess tiara again- a very enjoyable experience"

The others gave incredibly disturbed look to the auror, who merely grunted and have his meanest look in return, signalling he was not in the mood to joke about the incident.

Far later in the night, when everyone had gone home, Sirius was awoken by a small pressure on his shoulder, and hastily opened his eyes to see Hermione's faint out line.

"Can I have a sleepover with you tonight?" she asked, he panicked when he heard her voice was husky from crying.

"yeah, course you can" he shuffled to one side and opened the duvet for her to crawl in, when she did, she shivered and moved closer to him, "have you been crying?" he asked, unable to stop the alarm in his voice as her tear tracks glinted from the streetlight in the window.

"No" she lied. He could think of any reason why she would, small children were known for shaping their emotions unashamedly, or was Hermione born with the Gryffindor stubbornness and fear of weakness?

"You can tell me" he assured, lying back on his bed exhaustedly, she leaned heavily against him, her head tucked between the crook of his arm. She was amusingly tiny in his opinion.

"Had a bad dream... doesn't matter" she dismissed, her voice slowing.

"It does so, what was your dream about?" and yet after asking he realised that the small child was snoring softly, and looked peaceful.

What a contrast, he thought, this was from the stone cold floor with only his cries for company in the confines of prison in which he had spent the last twelve years.

The next day at lunch, Hermione asked for Tessa again.

"Who is this Tessa, Hermione?" Remus asked carefully, observing her through his reading glasses. She looked unsure for a moment, then answered, "she's the girl that thinks she's a grown up"

"is she your sister?" Sirius enquired, though neither of them had heard anyone mention a potential sibling.

"No, silly! She's..." Hermione paused and thought for a moment, and they child almost hear the memories dangle tauntingly just out of reach of her comprehension, "She looks after me whilst mother and father are out working!" she remembered. So, this Tessa was a nanny. "She's very pretty, she does my hair pretty too. Can I do your hair Padfoot?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Why not. It's been looking a bit bleak recently"

Remus could not remember laughing as hard as he was then, watching Hermione clip flower hair pins in the chocolate mess of sirius's hair, she had tied random sections into pony tails at the top of his head, making them look like bunches.

"Ow!" Padfoot yelped when the sharp point of a hair clip and been carelessly scraped against his scalp.

"Oh pur-lease, you're being a big baby" Hermione stated

"Me? I'm the bravest of them all! Never break my composure, right Moony? As for you..." he grinned mischievously and began to tickle her mercilessly, and she erupted in a fit of giggles and had to kneel on the chair she had been standing on to prevent her from falling.

"Stop Padfoot!" She laughed breathlessly, Sirius was laughing heartily too, and at the height of his excitement, his face and body morphed into his animagus form so quickly that not even Remus could stop his surprise. Hermione, as could be expected, screamed and very nearly fell off her chair, if it hadn't been for Remus using his wand to hold her in mid air.

"What happened to Padfoot?!" Hermione gasped, as she clutched at his cardigan and looked nervously at the wolf sized black dog sitting in his place.

"Some wizards have a special type of magic that lets them turn into animals, although we weren't going to tell you that _just yet"_ He emphasised the last two words and stared at the dog's watchful marble eyes, the child had gone through enough changes and surprises over the last few days without Sirius randomly turning into a dog.

At this point he gained enough control to revert back to human form, and sit on the chair next to them. Hermione jumped slightly, but otherwise seemed more fascinated than frightened.

"Can _I_ use special magic to turn into a dog?" she begged

"No, maybe when you're older, but it takes a lot of practice and patience, only the best of witches and wizards can do it" Remus informed her

"But I will be best witch Moony" she said, using his old name usually reserved only for Sirius, "and if I practice now I'll be able to do it when I'm older, like, four and a half!"

"You have to be much older than that, you have to be at least 20 before becoming an animagi" he lied, fiercely despising the idea of Hermione, even aged fifteen, putting herself through the pain of becoming an animagus, it was bad enough his best friends had done it.

"Animinagi?" Hermione cocked her head, the complex word stumbling on her tongue.

"It's easy once you know how" Sirius interjected, promptly transforming into Snuffles, his tail wagging uncontrollably. Hermione clapped her hands in excitement, hopped off the chair and began gently patting the dog's head, Padfoot barked appreciatively and ran enthusiastically to the staircase, implying Hermione followed.

Remus couldn't help but smile as the sounds of her laughter and Padfoot's four light footsteps travelle duo the stairs and onto the ground floor. It had been months since Sirius had transformed, even then it was only for missions and when he needed to get from place to place without dementors catching him.

Just as he arrived by the living room (Padfoot and Hermione were now chasing one another above the stair case) he heard the distinctive sound of the fire place rattling, and only a second before he was alerted did Minerva McGonagall appear easily in the confined space.

"Remus!" The ageing Witch said with an odd warmness. In all honesty, there was not many people Remus respected more than he did mcgonagall, as a mentor, teacher and a

eventually colleague she was undoubtedly one of the strongest and fiercest witches he knew.

"Professor, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he smiled,

"Well, I have been bullied by Albus to give you these" she said reluctantly, bringing out a stack of plants, buzzing with live and emoting an odd glow from the healthy yellow petals, "Miss Lovegood believes they hold some special healing powers, they don't, of course, yet they cause no harm either, and if she believes she is doing hermione some good then I let it slide"

"Professor, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked,

Lupin of course remembered Luna from his time teaching at Hogwarts, she had been a strange yet some what alluring girl with an eerie level of perception that granted them a handful of philosophical conversation that he still reflected upon. "I also have with me: Hermione's school things, since she won't be needing them for a while yet" McGonagall sounded tense, and she spoke quickly, afraid emotion would show. Remus said nothing, he knew her well enough to understand her hatred of being open with her emotions, or admitting she even had them in the first place. He received the heavy box of books and then the carefully folded and ironed uniform. "Arthur Weasley also requested you have this for yourselves and Hermione, he came across it at work" a fat grey television appeared on the wooden floor, accompanied by a wealthy stack of video's with still cartoon pictures on them, "he was very sure that Hermione would recognise this from her upbringing" she assured.

"Minerva!" 

"That's Professor to you, Black!" the sharp words came instinctively, having been repeated millions of times during Sirius's education. The shabby convict entered the room in quick strides and placed a kiss on his old Professor's wrinkled cheek. He would never admit his respect and undying love for Minerva McGonagall, she was the first woman (before even Mrs Potter) to be a mother figure to him, despite the detentions she had ensured that during the holidays he ate enough and was not treated as badly, she had been the one to fight to let him stay with James, and she had been the only one to not believe he was guilty of killing the Potters.

"Hermione, this is Professor McGonagall, you remember her don't you?" Sirius turned to the four year old, who had remained in the door way to look at the unraveling scene with a confused look. She nodded, twisting a strand of curly hair.

"Come here Hermione, let me have a proper look at you" McGonagall found it difficult to remember that this child, _her_ child did not know her, nor was she used to her demanding tone, yet that didn't stop Hermione Granger from being her cub.

Hermione looked briefly at Remus and Sirius for permission before climbing into Minerva's lap, staring intently at the emerald that rested on a golden chain on her bosom.

"Such lovely hair you have, you must remember to brush it" The Professor ordered, and she nodded. "Do you like staying with Remus and Sirius?" she asked

"Yes Professor, I like it very much" she remembered at the castle, in North Pole, people addressing the black haired with as Professor, not that she knew what it meant, yet understood it to be a prestigious title. "Sirius can turn into a dog, did you know that? And one day I'm going to be an animinagi, just like him" she tripped on the word again but spoke with conviction.

"Is that so? Well Hermione, how is that cat of yours, Crookshanks?"

"He's very lovely Professor! He sleeps in my bed with me!" she said proudly, the older witch smiled,

"cats are very clever creatures, smarter than dogs"

"Bullsh- nonsense" Sirius choked, blushing under mcgonagall's glare, "dogs are the smartest Hermione, they can play games"

"Yes but cats are independent, they catch their own mice, and take care of themselves perfectly" Minerva argued indignantly

"I'm sure Hermione can decide for herself" Remus winked at her, "we can watch some films- look what we have here" he searched through the piles of videos, "L _ady and the Tramp"_ he read, "that's about dogs, and what about this- _aristocats?"_

 _"_ Yes, of course you can decide for yourself, although, I'm sure Crookshanks would be very offended if you were to choose dogs"

Hermione couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn that McGonagall had winked at her in a joking manner, yet the composure of them wrinkled face immediately after made her think she had imagined it, she very much liked this Professor McGonagall, with her emerald necklace and fancy robes.

"Crookshanks is _very_ clever" Hermione added, "his ears twitch when I say his name, but he doesn't jump, he saves all his energy for climbing the stairs to go to bed"

"Clever girl. Well, I am glad you're enjoying your time with Remus and Sirius, if you ask nicely I'm sure they will read you this book for me- a girl much like you liked it very much" she said, picking up a very thick volume titled - _Hogwarts: A History._

 _"_ we were actually racing little red riding hood as it happens, but a 1000 page classic novel is practically the same thing" Sirius said with an air of sarcasm

"She's smart enough!" Minerva defended, bringing Hermione closer to her and sitting up straight so that she looked much like a mother lioness defending her cub. Hermione very much liked being called smart by such a professional looking woman, and warmed next to her. "Well, I must get back to the castle" she said, sliding Hermione off her lap and moving towards the fireplace, "I must speak to you both soon myself about Hogwarts, but until then- Hermione, you behave yourself, won't you? Good girl, I'll see you in a few days to discuss cat's superiority" with a hint of spontaneity that was not common with the transfiguration professor, she disappeared in a puff of lime green smoke.

 **Hi! I liked this cute little chapter, and expect the next one soon. However if there's anything you want to see feel free to comment.**

 **Ps- Your reviews for the last chapter made me insanely happy. I read all of them! :)**


	6. meeting Harry and Ron

"I could never fit into this! It's so big!"

It was late in the day, a hazy sky hung over Grimmauld Place, where Hermione Granger - in her four year old form- was trying out her old uniform much to the entertainment of Remus and Sirius.

"You did, you stay short though" Sirius teased, Hermione was wearing her pristine white tee shirt, which trailed behind her, she tried to put her hands on her hips, yet could barely locate them from how the length of the shirt sleeves drowned her so.

"What's this?" she exclaimed, digging into her trunk and pulling out a bra. Remus blushed yet couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "It's like a helmet!" Hermione had now put the cup of said bra atop her head and pulled the straps either side of her face.

"Some helmet" Sirius snickered under his breath

"Oooh! There's a pink one too! You wear it Moony!" she pulled out a pretty pink bra out and past it to him, an expectant look on her face. Sirius was shaking with laugher behind him,

"You have to be patient with old Moony, he's never seen a, er- helmet, before" the chocolate haired animagus joked.

They noticed Hermione had gone quiet, and saw her looking at the contents within the trunk. "Is that me?" she asked, she walked towards them holding a picture carefully- it was of her, Ron and Harry taken some time last year at the beginning of the Tri Wizard Tournament, the three figures were laughing carelessly. Remus sighed, this was going to be difficult.

"It is, it's you when you were fourteen" he said, stroking her hair as her large brown eyes concentrated hard on the picture,

"who are those boys?"

"those are your friends, Ron and Harry. Ron is Mrs Weasley's youngest son and Harry is Sirius and I's godson" he said carefully

"Friends?!" Hermione seemed surprised, "Like...like Dobby and Luna are?" they had informed her of Luna's odd yet kind hearted gesture of giving her some plants and since then she had doted over them.

"Yes, and they love you very much, and they miss you too" Sirius said, looking at her intently.

"I wish I remembered" She said sadly, still staring at the image.

"You will" Remus promised, pulling her into his lap and tucking a stray hair behind her ear, "maybe we can arrange for you to see them soon?"

Her face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.

"In the mean time, I'm falling asleep waiting for you to put this film on!" Sirius exasperated.

"Fine! Hermione, hop into these won't you?" Remus held the pyjama bottoms open for her to slide into, "what's the film of choice tonight?"

"The cat one!" the child yelled happily, jumping up and down excitedly

"Cat one?!" Padfoot interrogated, throwing Hermione in the air as she laughed breathlessly, he ruffled her hair playfully as she cheerfully sang "cat one! Cat one!" . In a last ditch attempt to win over her affection, Sirius morphed into a dog and barked loudly, making her collapse in a fit of giggles in the mess of blankets and pillows they had strewn across the over plumped sofa.

Remus didn't even have the heart to chastise them about almost knocking over his cup of tea before dimming the lights and sitting on the other side of Hermione, who now had a very content black dog laying across her lap, tongue out comically. The opening titles of the film began to show, and after a few moments of hushing and giggles, the room went silent.

An hour later, and Hermione was hopping across the sofa, a healthy blush on her cheeks as she recalled the song for the umpteenth time,

 _"Every body wants to be a cat!"_

Remus was growing tired just watching her gallop about, and he wondered how she could possibly have so much energy, since the majority of his childhood had been spent in a sick bed. Sirius was loving it, his eyes glinted merrily as he concentrated on Hermione, he also continued the melody with her in an almost drunken state of happiness.

 _"Because a cat's the only cat, who knows where it's at"_

"C'mon Moony, you sing too! I'm Marie, Padfoot is Thomas and you're... you can be Duchess!" Hermione theorised. Remus grinned at being compared to the lavish and well petted white mother cat of the film, and Sirius the eligible yet determinedly handsome bachelor.

" _Everybody's picking up on that feline beat"_ Remus hummed, and Hermione positively beamed.

After being sure that they could audition at Broadway and be accepted, both men leant back on the sofa exhaustedly.

"I think it's time a particular kitten went to her bed" he said, looking at the small girl fighting sleep desperately.

"'M not tired Moony - promise" she mumbled, sitting herself up only to sway haphazardly that Remus automatically caught her and brought her closer to him, where she settled on his chest as if she'd done so for years. He breathed in her comforting scent of milk and soap, observed her unscathed skin and naturally pouting lips that formed a comical "o" in sleep, her brown curls were tangled and free, as if she had grown up in the wild, yet she was happy. In every sense of the word, Hermione was the most perfect, angelic child Remus had ever met; not that he was biased in any way, of course not.

"Moony, I've been thinking" Sirius's whisper burst the sleepy silence that had fallen, Remus laid down so that his head was in Sirius's lap, Hermione still clutched to his chest.

"That would make a change" His sarcasm came naturally.

"Oi! Anyway, what if I- if we ask Dumbledore if Harry and Ron can come over? Even if it's for an hour or so it could help Hermione, and we get to see Harry: it's a win win"

"I agree, it would be good for her to remember them, but they're in fifth year now Padfoot, Harry's got enough on his plate as it is-"

"So seeing his best friend for the first time in two weeks will do him good! Fifth year my arse, he's his fathers son: he'll spend eight months not picking up a pen then cram for the last two weeks and get all O's, because he's also his mother's son" Sirius sounded pained, and they both knew how much it hurt to refer to Lily and James, even after all the years that had passed. Remus rubbed his forehead tiredly, what his boyfriend was saying was entirely rational, and it would arguably do more benefit to him to see Harry than the other way around.

"Alright, we can talk to Dumbledore in the morning" he bargained, and felt Sirius's smile illuminate even in the dark. "Is it worth getting up and taking her to bed?" he asked randomly after a few moments.

"Doubt it: she came into my room last night when she had a nightmare, wouldn't tell me what it was about though"

Remus felt familiar prickles of stress nip at his head, and he clenched his eyes shut.

"I know, she came into my room the other night too" he confessed.

"Surely that's not normal, Moony. It can't be a side affect from the potion can it?"

"I'm unsure, but we'll talk to Moody- he can shed some light on it"

Sure enough, what felt like only moments later Remus was awoken by a sharp jolt and felt Hermione shoot up and look around the room like a meerkat sensing danger, her chest rose steadily as if she were gasping for breath. He squeezed her arm to grab her attention, and she flinched at his touch, which brought fear even to him, however upon realising that she was not in any danger- whatever situation she had imagined had been a dream: she fell back and burrowed into Remus's chest, wrapping her small arms around his chest. He was able to feel her racing heart beat steadily.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, stroking her hair. She nodded. "another nightmare?" she nodded again. "What was it about?" there was no response, "okay, we'll talk about it in the morning" he yawned and stretched out his legs before pulling a nearby duvet over them both- since Hermione felt ice cold.

"Constant vigilance!"

The angry growl was accompanied by the screech of curtains being dragged open and the painful glare of sunlight.

"I'll be more vigilant after a good nights sleep" Remus muttered, knowing the auror would hear. He felt that Hermione was sitting beside him, having only woken a few minutes before. Sirius entered the room, presumably from the kitchen, and ruffled Hermione's hair.

"It's been arranged for Hermione to visit the castle to see Harry and The Weasley Boy" Mad Eye informed,

"Ron" Sirius reprimanded, he had a lot of time for the Weasley family, especially Ron- who, in their first moments of meeting, had shown such bravery and loyalty to his godson that he had immediately won him over. He handed Hermione her cereal and sat by Remus's feet.

"Will they okay Princesses with me?" She asked innocently.

"They'll do whatever you say, tell them Uncle Mad Eye said so"

Remus and Sirius shared a look of surprise at the informal and affectionate way in which the usual stern war hero had displayed, but said nothing.

Harry's palms were sweating, and he knew Ron's were too. It had been a long and stressful two weeks without Hermione, they had missed her dreadfully and realised how little they appreciated her, they even missed her incessant nagging and the common room was painfully quiet without her demanding they do their homework (of which there was plenty). Her favourite armchair had been left empty, as if a ghost of her former self warned others away.

A loud crash interrupted Harry's thoughts, and he looked up to see on the doors on the far end if the corridor burst open and release a tonne of purple water that smelt sickeningly of lavender, Fred and George flew atop the flood on broom sticks, laughing loudly, then the familiar titter of heels came from behind Harry and he saw Professor Umbridge look at the scene of carnage in front of her.

"This is ridiculous! What do you think you're doing?" she screeched at the twins

"Trying to get expelled by the looks of it" Ron muttered under his breath.

"Come on, we'll be late" Harry urged, picking up the hems of his robe to prevent water form drenching them.

The pair walked in the other direction, Professor Umbridge's screeching still ringing in their ears. The large oak door of McGonagall's office swung open without them needing to knock, and Harry's heart surged when he caught sight of his God Fathers.

Sirius hugged him first, and clapped him hard on the back before holding him at arms length and looking him up and down, even though it had only been two weeks since they last saw one another. Harry was shocked at how different Sirius looked: his once pale and flaky skin radiated a youthful glow, his face was no longer drawn but fuller, his brown eyes sparkled with a new life.

"How's fifth year treating you, mate?" He asked, ruffling Harry's hair.

"Harshly" he answered truthfully. He hoped to get a few minutes alone with Sirius to talk to him about the recurring headaches and night mares that plagued him.

"I think there's a little someone you'd like to meet" Remus winked, and a small girl peeked out from behind his legs, clutching the old trousers nervously. She had a small button nose and very serious brown eyes, she stared up at them curiously.

"You're Harry, aren't you? And you're Ron" She said, sounding far less sure of herself than they were used to, yet it was clearly Hermione.

"I am" Harry replied,

"Boys, you didn't happen to see Professor Umbridge hurrying towards the main hall with, perhaps, The Twins?" Professor McGonagall asked with feigned casualness. Harry and Ron looked at each other.

"How did you know?" Ron gawped

"Just an estimated guess. The three of us have a meeting with the Headmaster any minute now, so we'll give you some privacy. Be careful with her, she is only four" she warned

"I was hardly planning on using her as a bludger, Professor" Ron responded, pretending he couldn't see Sirius snickering behind McGonagall.

"Very well, I will return in an hour, you must not leave my office or risk Professor Umbridge seeing Hermione"

They nodded obediently.

"So why can't you just magic your eyes better?"

The three of them were sat in a circle on the rug, as Hermione tried on Harry's glasses and her eyes struggled to see through them.

"I don't think there's a spell for that, and glasses aren't so bad" He reasoned

"But don't they fall off when you're reading?" she asked presently as his glasses slipped off her small face, he shook his head and placed them back on his nose.

"Harry doesn't like reading much" Ron said with a mischievous grin, he had been waiting for the moment to test exactly how much Hermione was like her older self, sure enough the four year old looked horror stricken.

"Don't like reading! But- but reading is my _favourite"_ she exclaimed, bushing her hair out of her face and standing as if to emphasise her point, "Moony and Padfoot read to me all the time, they're the _best_ readers, they can even read the teensy tiny print and the super long words" she praised enthusiastically. Harry had never given much thought as to the natural parenting abilities his God Parents possessed, which seemed ridiculous now that he saw Hermione is such a perfect and happy state- of course they would make great parental figures, even if only for a month or so. Remus was the most observant and attentive teacher Harry had ever known, with a knack of knowing exactly what you were thinking. Sirius had spent the last twelve years of his life in solitude, he had twelve years of love and affection to give.

"Why don't you ask Professor McGonagall to read to you?" she demanded, shooting Ron an uncannily familiar look of irritation when he snickered, "or Professor Umbridge" she said, clearly remembering the adults speaking of her. Both boys made a face.

"Professor Umbridge is awful" Ron confessed, which caught her attention, "she looks like a toad too, her face is all squashed, like a toad" he presently distorted his features comically in an impression of their formidable Professor, Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"Does she hop like a toad too?" she giggled,

"Yep, and when she sees a fly she catches it with her super long tongue" Ron confirmed, making even Harry laugh, which he had not done in a while: the stress of Umbridge's lessons, recurring headaches and nightmares, and the overall heavy feeling of depression and anger had slowly been weighing him down, up until the moment he stepped foot in McGonagall's office.

 **Hii guys,**

 **I got so may requests to feature Ron and Harry, I hope I did admirably even if you find it a bit short (though this chapter is one of the longest yet I think?) thank you again for the reviews, keep them coming, as well as any requests :)**

 **Ps since my last update I've had my birthday! I'm curious as to how old you guys think I am.**


	7. Snape's Mistake

Severus Snape was exhausted.

The new timetable that his life now revolved around was harbouring, he could not remember the last time he was in bed before three am. Planning lessons, marking homework, making wolfsbane potion for a man he very much disliked, as well as searching far and wide for the ingredients required for Miss Granger's ageing potion and attending the rigorous death eater meetings had drained his energy levels, and for a few silent moments he sat peacefully on his armchair, watching the clock strike midnight.

A sickeningly familiar searing pain shot through his arm, and his vision was overtaken with with blurred imaged of a dark gothic mansion, Malfoy Manor, to be exact. He knew the Dark Lord was summoning him for the third time in a month, he also knew that appearing at the meeting with his silk green pyjamas would not go down very well; he hurriedly changed into his usual attire and rushed out of his chambers, he sent a patronus to send a message to Albus of his whereabouts, knowing the meeting could take anywhere from ten hours to ten minutes: he hoped the latter.

The room was poorly lit, yet the occasional shaky breath and the tapping of Bellatrix's many rings against the wooden table made it clear that many people had been called. Severus had already suppressed any distracting thoughts or emotions and built an invisible wall around his mind to stop the Dark Lord from finding out the truth, it had become instinct in the past months.

Voldemort stood with his back facing his servants and was gazing at the flickering green flames that reflected eerily off of his pale placid skin. After many minutes of silence, he turned to face them, his snake like face void of expression.

"Severus" he said lightly, "come here"

Snape moved until he was a foot away from him and could see into the slits of his eyes.

"My Lord" he bowed nobly

"There is much to discuss, yet not much time, allow me to search your mind, won't you Severus? It will save you having to explain, I wouldn't want you to miss out any details of the last month now, would I?" he almost grinned, his transparent skin stretched painfully.

It was a difficult task, yet Snape's expertise in the matter made it easier- to alter certain memories and completely hide others so that those searching his mind would be unable to see them. For a moment he thought of Miss Granger, how much did the Dark Lord know about her and her unconditional loyalty to The Boy Who Lived? How much was it worth hiding the knowledge that she was reduced to a far weaker, vulnerable state? He decided to let him see, after all, he had very few visual memories of her, he had only caught a glimpse when she visited Harry and Ronald in the castle last week.

It was a painful process, having your mind searched, even more so when hiding a great deal, yet Severus kept his face expressionless and only a slight twitch of his hand was a giveaway of his discomfort. Images were forced within the home of his eyelids, flashes of Harry sitting in his classes, looking tired and irritated in many instances, then Albus's figure came into view, his soft tones and wise words, yet underlying worry of what lay ahead, and finally there was the memory of the potion incident. It was crucial to not attach even a flicker of affection towards the girl, who was, in Snape's opinion, an intolerable and opinionated child, yet his student nonetheless, and it was natural to feel for her, it was shown when she was reduced to a four year old, how Harry shot out of his seat and looked pained and distressed. Fuck. His affection towards Granger were as clear as day, and now Voldemort knew.

"Ahh, very good Severus, very good" he turned so that he faced the awaiting table of Death Eaters, "it appears that Harry Potter has a _crush"_

Many burst into laughter, loudest of all was Bellatrix, who's high pitched squeal threatened to give Snape a headache. He knew it was far better that the Dark Lord thought Harry's interest in Hermione was romantic rather than a deep rooted friendship similar to the bond of siblings, after all, teenagers fell in love on a weekly basis, it would be useless to use her against him in this incidence.

"What is the girls name, Severus?" Voldemort asked

"Hermione Granger, my Lord" He uttered, knowing that there was no going back.

"Actually, my Lord, I know something of the Granger girl" Lucius Malfoy's voice interrupted the mumbling that had broken out across the table.

"You do, Lucius? Please stand, tell us" Voldemort ushered, the tall. blonde man did so, his wife eyeing him suspiciously from the adjoining chair.

"She has been Potter's friend from their first year, I believe. Draco says they are never apart, I had the chance to speak to her personally a few years ago- very dull, sir. However she is also a mudblood"

There was an uproar, people banging fists against the table and snarling at the idea, others laughing hysterically at the idea of _The_ Harry Potter befriending a _mudblood._ Voldemort raised a hand for silence.

"Interesting, it appears that low standards runs in the family, Harry's mother was a mudblood, wasn't she?"

Severus did not move, and strained so that his mind remained utterly silent.

"Wormtail, you spent a great deal of time with Harry, what do you know of Miss Granger?" he asked silkily. A stout, ugly man appeared from the shadows, quivering and mumbling manically, his round glassy eyes twitching.

"Sh-she was in the whomping willow when Black revealed himself, my Lord, she-she was willing to die for Harry Potter, sir" he gushed.

"So willing, so brave" Voldemort contemplated, "friendship is a beautiful thing is it not, Wormtail?"

Wormtail whimpered pathetically.

"Where is she staying, Severus?"

"Grimmauld Place, my Lord, with Black and Lupin- the werewolf"

"Interesting. How long do you believe it will take to return her to normal?"

"Up to eight months, My Lord" Snape said truthfully

"Excellent. Dolohov, Avery, I want you to patrol Black's House and wait for the chance to capture our Miss Granger. Kill the Werewolf if you must, but not Black: Harry Potter will have no chance but to follow my command if his best friend and God Father's lives are at stake"

I'm so evil.

This was quite difficult to write so I hope I did and alright job! let me know!


	8. Danger

"You don't have to come with me; I'm a grown man after all: I can do this myself"

After ensuring Hermione was fast asleep in bed with Fawkes tucked in beside her (Fawkes was a fluffy animal in the shape of a black dog it was so old and indistinguishable it could have been both Sirius of himself in animal form, nevertheless she had become very much attached to the dead thing, and it had managed to keep her neith area away for a few nights now). He now sat in the unheated kitchen as it neared three am, Sirius awake by the power of a burning black coffee and Remus by the growing power of the moon, he twitched and buzzed with energy, flinched at the slightest sound, too engulfed in the never ending pattern of his thoughts that trailed round his conscience.

"I'm not saying you can't do it alone, I don't suppose you've been inviting a party to watch you transform each month whilst I've been away"

That much was correct, Remus has transformed one hundred and forty four times (give or take) in the twelve years that Sirius had been locked up in Azkaban and not once had someone been there, he had endured the agonising torture time and time again, and with no one there to stop him; he had torn a good deal of his own skin in the process, he couldn't say he was upset by that matter.

He sighed and subconsciously rubbed his hand beneath his cardigan sleeve and felt the ugly, mauled skin.

"Show me" Sirius said, now sat in the chair next to him. There was a pause, during which he stared into his partner's dark grey eyes for an eternity of a second, and they felt the twelve years of pain weigh heavy in their throats. There were not enough words to explain the pain they had lived, not enough tears to do justice to it either.

Sirius lifted the sleeves of his checked shirt to reveal a pattern of indents in his skin from where the chains had pressed against, the sores from the hours and hours of rocking slowly back and forth in a suffocating darkness, the permanent bruises from the desperate angry attempts of escape.

Before he could stop it, a tear had fallen down Remus's cheek, he didn't wipe it away, this was Sirius, after all. He didn't look to gauge his reaction as he lifted his own sleeve to reveal his own permanent scars that time had imprinted on his body, but flinched as Sirius's hands touched them softly, yet he found himself gripping on to his hands as though it were the only thing keeping him alive, and it was at that moment, as an invisible force spread through their bodies, easing their aching bones, that Remus knew he never wanted to be alone again.

.

It was arranged that Kingsley and Mad-Eye would babysit Hermione the night of Remus's transformation, they didn't think it would bother her too much- she was incredibly fond of the two aurors, what they didn't anticipate was;

"P-please don't go, is it because I was bad?" Hermione panicked, she had pushed herself of the chair at the dinner table and tugged at Remus's cardigan, her eyes so bright and filled with urgency that he would have done anything to make her happy.

"Of course not, Padfoot and I are meeting up with an old friend, that's all, and no children are allowed where we're going" he said sadly.

"I-I can make myself look grown up! I'll stand like this!" she said, standing on her tip toes and broadening her shoulders"

"Mad-Eye and Kingsley will be here instead, and they promised they would play princess and pirates with you" Sirius interjected.

"I don't want Mad-Eye and Kingsley" Hermione mumbled, shuffling to Sirius's seat and sitting on his lap. "I want you"

She was more distraught than she let on, that much was clear, she made sure to keep an eye on the pair of them at all times, as if they were going to disappear in a puff of smoke. She was quieter than usual too, and Remus was sure it was because she still believed they were leaving because of her own behaviour.

When Mad-Eye and Kingsley arrived at eight, Hermione was polite and clearly pleased to see them yet still wary of being left without her beloved carers, which was understandable considering how close she had grown to them in the past month.

"Promise you'll come back" Hermione whispered as she hugged Remus as tightly as she could.

"I promise" he said solemnly, tucking her hair back. She asked the same to Sirius, and hugged him fiercely before being set down on the floor.

"Be good" Remus said, feeling more like a parent than ever.

"Of course she will" Kingsley assured warmly.

For some reason Sirius felt a twinge of unease, the heavy feeling of worry set in his stomach, the Noble House of Black was cursed and something about leaving Hermione there without him scared him greatly, but at that moment ; Remus needed him more, so with a final smile good bye, they disappeared from the fireplace.

.

Alastor Moody, war hero and murderer of many deserving swine, who struck fear in the heart of the bravest aurors and death eaters alike, could not quite understand the events that led him to be wearing a bright pink pointy hat and siting on a miniature table with plastic cups and plates, nor how an equally powerful and respected wizard was in the same position as he.

"Would you like some tea, Princess Moody, Princess Kingsley?" Hermione asked respectfully, having been on the brink of a meltdown once Remus and Sirius left, the pair of them had hastily done what they could do divert such an incident.

"I would love some, Queen Hermione" Kingsley said nobly, holding up his cup to accept the imaginary tea, Mad-Eye did the same.

"There is much fighting in the kingdom these days" Hermione said wisely, "Mr Snuggles was sent to hospital, thank fully Mr Santa was able to heal him"

"What could be the cause of this fighting?" Mad-Eye asked with an air of sarcasm that Hermione didn't recognise.

"Dark magic"

The answer was so unexpected that both men stiffened and glanced at one another, clearly Hermione was picking up too much for her own good, or remembering things from the past.

Kingsley observed the girl silently, watched as she spoke mainly to herself, stumbling over her words whilst occasionally spelling complex vocabulary into her speech, most likely due to her own suppressed memories fighting with her: it was fascinating.

As the night progressed she became uneasy and disorientated, he noticed, her tan skin paled and her pupils grew wider.

"Are you feeling unwell Hermione?" He asked motioning for her to come towards him, he felt her forehead and she jumped against the cold.

"head hurts" she said quietly

"Why in Merlins name didn't you say anything?" Mad-Eye asked in his habitual growl, and Kingsley silently reprimanded him with a fierce stare.

Hermione said nothing, surely wondering if it was a rhetorical question or not. Mad-Eye stood and promptly left the room, his wooden leg thumping rhythmically against the floor.

"Is he angry? Am I in trouble?" She asked, her eyes growing wide with fear.

"Of course not young one, here, I can show you something that will make you feel better" Kingsley grinned, he pulled out his wand and effortlessly produced a patronus, a thick streaming of glowing blue smoke appeared and instantly Hermione was captivated, her mouth agape, then the smoke began to take the form of a lynx, that prowled a few feet from the air before dancing wildly about the room. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her jump onto the sofa in the hopes of touching it, of coaxing it in her direction.

"I want to be able to do that" she said breathlessly a few minutes later,

"And you will, all in good time" he assured,

she was visibly dissatisfied with this answer, and looked at her own hands for a moment before thrusting them forward and flat facing, with a slight click she produced a single flame that only had a second of life before Kingsley extinguished it. Of all the deadly missions he had ventured, all the times he had been at the receiving end of the wand if a wizard intending to kill him, nothing caused quite the degree of panic as the four year old in his care being able to produce a deadly substance.

"Hermione" he said seriously, taking her tiny hands in his large ones, "you must not play with magic! Do not be reckless, child, you could have caused a great deal of damage" he warned. She nodded sombrely, alarmed by the sincerity in his voice. "Promise me" he said.

"I pinky promise" she entwined her pinky with his in the childish way of sealing the most official of businesses.

"Hermione, drink this, it will make you feel better" Mad-Eye appeared at the doorway, holding a goblet. Clearly relieved he wasn't angry at her anymore, she hurried towards him and accepted the drink, which tasted strongly of orange juice and lavender and made her feel very warm, and her thoughts slow and sluggish.

"What exactly did you put in that drink, Mad Eye?" Kingsley grinned, before he could answer, Hermione clambered onto his lap, unbothered by his unnaturally cold fake leg. He stopped for a moment, he could not recall the last time anyone, let alone a child, willingly touched him or showed a desire to be in his company in such a way, he didn't quite now how to react, part of him feared that a slight movement or the wrong tone would change her mind and she would flee from him.

"I'm not a bed missy, don't you fall asleep on me" he warned.

"'Not tired" she yawned, wrapping a strand of curly hair round her finger, "can you read me a story?" she asked, her words becoming slurred.

"Maybe later" Kingsley said, she nodded, and her eyes fell shut.

Mad Eye, not being the sentimental type, later moved her to her bed upstairs, although for the life of him could not find that dammed stuffed animal Sirius had told him helped her sleep, but he was sure the remedy would be a fine enough replacement. The time had just passed one and Hermione had barely moved, however with a sudden jolt the fireplace came to life and, although realistically both aurors knew it was near enough impossible for an enemy to infiltrate the house, they required constant vigilance and stood with their wands pointed at the dancing flames.

"I apologise for not warning you of our arrival, but there was no time" Albus Dumbledore moved gracefully from the fireplace and was followed by McGonagall and Snape, both of whom bore looks of distress that set Mad-Eye and Kingsley on edge.

"Professor?" Kingsley questioned.

"The Death Eaters have been enlightened of Miss Granger's relationship with Harry, and her condition, they are guarding the house as we speak, and we cannot protect ourselves without a Black present, we must leave to Hogwarts immediately"

I'm so sorry for not being on here for ages. I hope you appreciate/understand that I do this for fun obviously and when it no longer becomes as enjoyable for whatever reason I have to take a break, anyway: I have a good idea about the next chapter however tell me what you want to see and I'll try my best to include it. Every review is appreciated and I apologise for any spelling errors (I write this on my phone and it's kinda late). Hope you're all doing well xx


	9. Safety at Hogwarts

De aged chapter 8

The necessary precautions were taken; Moody and Dumbledore were producing complex spells to enhance the protection of the House as Kingsley hastily followed McGonagall, alongside a far more reluctant Snape, who remained at the door way of Hermione's make-shift bedroom.

Minerva gently shook the four year old awake, ignoring the illogical panic that had formed; the risk of Death Eaters attacking Hermione and succeeding was small, yet still a possibility; all the same she didn't want to worry the child any more than was expected of such a situation.

Slowly, Hermione became conscience. "Hello sweetheart, we have to go now, we're taking a special trip to Hogwarts" she said in a hushed tone, as if the Death Eaters were leering in the windows.

"But it's night time" Hermione stated confusedly, rubbing her eyes.

"And much past your bed time too, but we have to hurry, kitten"

Something rather strange yet sickeningly familiar happened: Hermione froze, and her doe eyes became glassed over as though her very soul left her body.

"The disturbance has triggered something" Snape murmured from the corner of the room, Kingsley looked alarmed. "It would have been best to keep her sleeping rather than risk this distraction"

"Distraction? What do you mean "distraction" Severus?" Minerva asked incredulously.

"Where's my mummy?" Hermione asked in a floating voice. Minerva felt her heart drop in her chest.

Kingsley stepped forward, "she's not far, she told us to take you to Hogwarts" he said calmly, although couldn't help but feel guilty at the twisted lie he had told a mere child.

"Is she in her bedroom? I'll go get her" she continued- the words having not registered in her brain. Hermione slipped out of bed and walked in a dream like state towards the door. Through the fog in her mind she vaguely recognised Kingsley, McGonagall and the dark haired man in the corner, yet she had more pressing matters at hand.

"Hermione, come here and you can see her very soon" the auror promised, yet it fell on deaf ears and Hermione continued to walk into the landing.

As Snape brought out his wand, McGonagall's harsh Scottish voice barked, "Severus! Hermione is still our student and I cannot allow you to use magic so easily"

Snape did not have the energy to argue back for once: the nights events were taking a tole on him, which is also what caused his decision to reach out for Hermione- who had his back to him. In the hopes that it would spark a reaction to prove that magic would have been far more convenient.

Oh it did.

His touch shook Hermione from her reverie, her large brown eyes were awakened and widened with terror and determination, unthinkingly she twisted her small body so that she was facing the towering man, and sunk her teeth into his hand.

He instinctively shook her off and instantly she scrambled desperately up the crooked stair case onto the floor above. Seething and clutching his damaged hand, Snape set of to fetch the child when Kingsley placed a constraining hand on his bony shoulder before striding in the valued direction himself.

Hermione, now on the second flight of stairs, glanced down and audibly squeaked I'm terror as the tall dark man made his way toward her, she knew somewhere that she knew him, but she needed to find mummy, and none of her surroundings seemed familiar.

"Hermione..." Kingsley kept his tone levelled and controlled, knowing that the situation was becoming more urgent, however his voice only made her run faster into the dimly lit corridor, then, with a painful thud her head made contact with a barely visible cabinet.

She paused in her tracks, felt pain wash over her violently, and without having given permission to herself to do so: she cried, even more so when she felt herself being lifted by a man she vaguely knew. She kicked and scratched whatever part of him she could, oh how she screamed, she screamed for her mother, she continued screaming even when she felt a hand on rubbing her back and when more and more voices were hushing her.

Mad-Eye was fuming, they did not have time for this, had the greasy snake in the corner not been such an impertinent fool and frightened the child this would not have happened, and a great deal of distress on both parts would have been diverted. He caught Kingsley's gaze, but they said nothing as the tortured cries of the small child in their care wailed on. That was until Dumbledore, completely unfazed, raised his hand and with a slight gesture Hermione's screaming ceased and she visibly relaxed against Kingsley's chest.

"It was too dangerous for me to weaken the protection on the castle: we're to apparate outside the castle grounds, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape will take Hermione into the castle, and we will deal with business elsewhere" the eldest wizard explained.

"Proffesor-"

"This is not up for negotiation Severus, for Hermione's safety you must return to the castle for the night"

The Scottish wind was restless and merciless that night, and the dark clouds moved as if to escape from danger themselves. Kingsley glanced down at Hermione, who had gone pale but otherwise seemed unharmed. The five of them strode briskly up the uneven wet ground in the direction of the semi lit castle, alert to any sign of danger.

"What shall I tell dolores if you're not back in the morning?" McGonagall said in a hushed tone to Dumbledore as they neared the castle.

"That I went on holiday to the Bahamas, I may even have to send her a picture of me on the beach"

The feline witch merely pursed her lips and suppressed a laugh, she had spent too many years with this man and his oddities, she thought to herself.

Hermione was now wide awake but painfully confused, she remembered everything now, and wanted her Padfoot and Moony, but didn't dare say. Kingsley was holding her tightly, as if to protect her from something- but she didn't know what, instead she kept her eyes focused on the full moon that shone so brightly through the dark clouds. There was more talking, but she couldn't keep up with what the adults were saying, until Kingsley looked down at her and said "don't be getting into any trouble now will you? Do what Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape tell you". Hermione nodded, and despite her underlying panic at the knowledge that Kingsley was now leaving her she hugged him quickly before allowing herself to be passed to McGonagall.

"Wait" she said, as the three men turned in the other direction "Moody!" she called, reaching out her arms.

The tense and disgruntled war veteran was tempted to bark at the child to be quiet, but the look of desperation in her wide chocolate eyes stopped him, and he hobbled toward them and allowed Hermione to embrace him for just a moment- the feeling was entirely alien to him: to feel wanted and needed, soon he shook her off and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He then caught the other adults staring, mouths agape at what they just witnessed.

"Oh shut up" he growled at McGonagall, who smirked, before heading toward the castle alongside Hermione and Snape.

"Lumos"

The passageway was dirty and seemingly endless, with grime growing freely on the low hanging ceiling.

"This was meant to be blocked years ago" McGonagall tutted

"I do believe I made Albus clear to that many years ago" Snape said bitterly.

Minutes passed and eventually they came to the shielded entrance to the castle. Hermione had been silent the entire time, which Minerva guessed to be sheer exhaustion. She had never expected such a ferocious anger to have come from the sweet natured girl, and it had been unnerving to witness her in such distress. She sighed with relief as they entered the walls of the castle, knowing they were safe.

"I'll take her to my quarters" she told Snape, who nodded, there was just one more corridor to walk through and the pair would separate, and he would have time to recuperate finally. This plan was brought to a bitter end at the sound of a sickly sweet voice from behind them.

"Pr-Professor Snape? Professor McGonagall? What could you possibly be doing at such an unholy hour?"

Minerva stopped in her tracks but did not turn, she didn't need to, she would recognise the voice of Dolores Umbridge anywhere, after all.

(Short but sweet Chapter: but I'll make up for it I promise)

Don't hate me, I'm sorry for taking so long again, thank you so so much for all your reviews and messages, they are all greatly appreciated and I plan on updating more regularly from now on.

Also, I want to ask your opinion on what to do with the next chapter. What do you want to see?

•Hermione and Snape "bonding" after all, we've seen that she can brings out the best in even the most bitter of adults, but with Snape already being predisposed to dislike the brains of the golden trio it could be interesting.

•Hermione spending the night camped out in the Gryffindor common room with the Weasley kids, Harry and Luna (you'll see)

either way I plan on her interacting with the kids at some point very soon, but it's up to you guys.

Also, many of you are keen to find out about Hermione's past, and all will be revealed :) so continue being patient with me. Thank you again for reading/ reviewing, and I hope you're all doing well.


	10. Sev

de aged chapter 9

Had it not been for his heightened senses, Snape would not have noticed the subtle flick of McGonagall's wand as she cast a silencing and invisibility charm around Hermione, or how she adjusted the child so that she was sheltered behind her as she turned to face the enemy.

"I could say the same for yourself Professor, is there something we have not yet covered in your visit" McGonagall said curtly, to which the shorter witch smiled in almost a sadistic way before replying,

"of course not, however I have been asked by the Prime Minister himself that I do whatever research that I find necessary"

Severus Snape had, on many occasions, found himself in life or death situations, in the presence of the darkest wizard of all time, with equally as unpleasant inferior wizards who would torture their own family should they need to, but nothing was quite as tense as watching the exchange of two felines on the prowl.

"very well then, although I must warn you professor, that the castle is, as it always have been: ever changing, be sure not to get lost. It would be a great shame should you be unable to observe more lessons tomorrow"

"How true Minerva, in fact, I ask that you and I take a walk back to my quarters"

Snape interjected, "I would happily-"

"No thank you Severus, it is about time that Minerva and I had a girl talk" she retorted with a distinguished sharpness in her tone. McGonagall looked as though she would rather gauge her own eyes out than spent another moment in the company of such detestable ogre. For a moment Snape genuinely expected her to cast a ferocious hex on Umbridge and let the whole business be done with, instead, she cast him a meaningful look and strode briskly toward the pink lady.

"Good night Severus" Umbridge uttered sweetly, he merely nodded in returned and turned sharply on the heel.

"Follow me" he breathed, hoping the child had enough sense to listen. It brought him much satisfaction to imagine that Hermione was speaking in her usual intolerable bossy tone, only for him not to hear not care.

He waited until they reached Slytherin territory before stopping in his tracks and lifting the vanishing spell, it was the first time he had seen her properly in clear light, and she appeared pitifully vulnerable: her brown locks were a mess atop her head, tear tracks stained her round cheeks and her pink cotton shirt was falling across her shoulder.

"I am going to relieve the silencing charm, meaning that you will once again be able to make sound, unfortunately. However, I do not expect a word from you until we reach my quarters" he drawled, "understood?"

Hermione nodded fervently.

Snape flicked his wand and continued walking at a pace he knew would trouble the child, he didn't care, exhaustion was weighing down on every bone in his body and he was bitter about having been left to care for the child, he could barely stand her as a teenager, and even though this littler Hermione was, too a slight degree that is, cuter, he would be thankful to rid of her as soon as he could.

They began the long trek down the winding stair case to the dungeons, and although he had long since grown used to it's comforting darkness, the dampness and the eerie coldness about it, the shivers from Hermione reminded him that she very much wasn't. She stumbled slightly once or twice before falling straight into the back of him, she scurried to get herself onto her feet once more, but he, almost without thinking, hoisted her up onto his waist and continued walking down the stairs.

Hermione appeared completely unbothered by this, and this unquestioning trust brought on a very odd set of emotions to the Potions teacher, he pushed it aside and listened to the rhythm of her breathing, and for some reason unbeknownst to him, it calmed him.

Nevertheless, that didn't stop him from setting her down once they arrived at the large oak door leading to his quarters.

"Everything you see in here, you are not to touch, do I make myself clear?" he demanded, regretting the sharpness of his tone when the four year old took a hesitant step back as awaiting him to open the door.

Snape did not care for his living space, he kept it almost as an extension to his classroom; dark, unfeeling and clinically clean. Jars of potions were carefully aligned on book shelves and cabinets, how the rich green blanket messily draped over his leather arm chair was a key give away to the human nature that he so desperately tried to suppress.

Yet that didn't stop him from half collapsing onto his armchair, letting out a sigh of relief as the tension in his muscles was momentarily eased. He closed his eyes and allowed the waves of utter exhaustion and pain to consume him. He was not yet 36 years of age, yet felt as though he had lived a thousand times, that his body had been through equally as many wars.

"Are you sick?" Hermione enquired, he did not open his eyes.

"Mmmhmmm"

He felt her take his large hand in her small ones and tug with all her might

"well if you're sick you have to go to bed!

"I'm not that sick, child, and it's you that must go to bed" he drawled, yet still made no attempt to move. Why not test if Hermione's independence stood even when she was so young, he thought to himself.

"I'm not tired"

At this, Snape sneered and peered at her through one eye, she stood with the defiant stance of a Gryffindor, even then.

With a flick of his wand he levitated the small child and forcefully thrust her against the leather sofa, instead of crying out, a contagious, joyous laugh erupted from her plump lips. The potions professor was so enraptured, after all of the nights events, being torn from her only place of comfort, from her familiars, without any sense of who she was or what had happened to her, she was still so care free and happy. It wasn't until her laughter regressed to giggling that he realised that he had been smiling. He cleared his throat and rose from his seat.

"you weren't supposed to like that" he warned, watching as his harsh words had no affect on her. With a twisting feeling in his stomach he recalled the time he made a 13 year old Hermione cry in his lesson after Draco had hexed her and teeth to enlarge. She had looked at him with nothing but shame and distress, why hadn't she fought back? It was unlike Gryffindors to not behave irrationally and boisterously.

Pushing his irrelevant thoughts to the back of his mind, he lit the green tiled fire place opposite the sofa in the hopes that the warmth would soothe her to sleep, instead, a green flame emitted and out burst a distinguishably ugly ginger cat.

"Crookshanks! Look Sevus! I wanted Crookshanks and now she's here! I magicked it!" Hermione shrieked delightfully.

Severus was there in two long strides, he scooped Hermione from where she had rushed to see her supposed feline friend and had his wand pointed at the it's flattened face.

"No! Don't hurt him! He's my cat! He's nice!"

"Don't be stupid, child. Do you have any idea what sort of danger you are in? How many people wish to see you dead? A cat mysteriously appears in the most protected place in Britain, coincidentally where you are staying, and you do not think twice about going toward the source of potential danger" He was so consumed with rage that he did not consider that Hermione was only four, he hated her for her vulnerability, for her innocence.

He muttered a disillusion charm, very much expecting the ginger facade to sleep and reveal a powerful dark art form of magic.

Nothing happened.

"Will you let me see my cat now?" Hermione sniffled.

"Don't cry to me if he scratches you" Snape forced his usual tone of carelessness as he set her down on the floor and returned to his armchair, summoning a parchment and quill.

"He won't" she huffed, and sure enough, the sour faced cat let his tiny human engulf him tightly and seemed perfectly content with it.

"Come here, Hermione" he beckoned after a few minutes. it felt odd saying her first name, too intimate, as though he were trespassing on her life.

To his surprise, the girl stared at him defiantly for a moment.

"Are you going to shout at me again?" she half whispered.

Instinctively, the innocent question made him sneer, but he regretted it instantly.

"Why are you so mean?"

 _"Why are you so mean Sev?" A young Lily Potter sat across from him on the grass, accusation burning in her glittering green eyes._

 _"What do you mean?" he retorted angrily, patience had never been one of his strengths, even in youth._

 _"I mean, calling my sister that rude word"_

 _The anguished cries of a scrawny Petunia Evans could still be heard from far across the hill._

 _"'muggle' isn't a rude word Lils, it's means-"_

 _"Well how you said it made it rude"_

 _"She deserves it!"_

 _Lily gasped and shot up, her distinctive red hair flying behind her head._

 _"She says worse stuff to you!" Severus hurried, scrambling to catch her up, "She calls people like us- you, a freak, a monster, like its something to be ashamed of!"_

 _"I'm used to it!" Lily shouted, "Don't you see Sev? What she says doesn't hurt me, because I know that people like me and you aren't bad! But- but when you get like this, it makes me wonder if she's right about our kind"_

 _"What do you mean 'like this'?" Severus demanded, forgetting to sound angry for the rate that his heart was racing in his chest._

 _"Bitter! Angry! Like the world is against you, when it isn't! I want to help Sev, I really do, But I don't know if I can anymore..."_

Snape shot out of his own memory with such ferocity that he was left gasping for air and clawing at the arms of his chair. Her face, her eyes, her voice: it was all the same. Perfectly preserved within the void of time and unleashed upon him with the weight of a thousand unspoken words, unkept promises and ultimately the life time that had passed without her.

"Sevus?" Hermione stared at him with wide eyes, holding Crookshanks in her arms (although his size against hers meant he drooped to the floor).

He half leaped from his chair and strode towards his make-do kitchen, pressing his hands against the cool black oak as palpitations still weighted in his chest. Now was not the time, he wanted to be alone, as he always was, from the moment he was born he was alone. He heard her footsteps cautiously follow him and with a burning anger he grabbed the nearest glass and threw it hard against the wall.

"Go! Leave! Can you not see what you've done!" he bellowed.

 _"Can you not see what you've done?!" He had always known his father to be tall, but now he seemed positively colossal, as do most adults to five year olds._

 _"Well Severus?" His father seethed, grabbing him by the collar until they were within millimetres of one another. His coal, dark eyes were filled with a drunken madness that terrified him because of how they pierced him in a way that no dark magic could._

 _"I'm sorry" Severus gulped._

 _"Wait until I fucking tell your mother" he growled. A sense of dread and defeat filled him, there was no point in fighting it, his father dragged him across the uncarpeted floor boards and kicked open the living room door._

 _His mother was ill, he had always known that, she sat with her bony legs crossed as though to maintain an air of royalty from which she descended, but it was no use: her long black hair was unkempt and hung against her pointed cheekbones. Her blue eyes were dull and unfocused though constantly pointed at the sky. She startled when she head her husband come in._

 _"Look at your mother and tell her what you did" His father demanded, having not loosened his grip._

 _Severus froze and his throat tightened, as if no word could possibly be allowed to pass from his under serving mouth, he did not have that right. He saw his mother stare at him expectantly._

 _"Well, Severus?" she whispered in her nervous, unsure voice._

 _A moment passed._

 _"Think you're being clever do you?" his father crowed, easily shoving him to the floor and lifting a bulky arm to strike._

 _"No! Tobias please!" her voice, though quiet, the sheer desperation of it weighed heavy in the air._

 _"You what?" Tobias Snape's attention shifted, like a predator having caught a new scent, his beady eyes locked on his prey and he attacked._

 _There was struggle, even then, his mothers heels scuffled against the floor and her cries were more distinctive now, then there was the harsh sound of flesh hitting flesh, again, and again, and again. His father stood for a moment, in full glory, over his son and wife, before lifting his leg and kicking the woman's side._

 _This time Severus cried out, he couldn't help it, as his mothers unconscious body took the hit of a hard leather boot._

 _Thump, thump, thump._

 _His father stopped once more, panting triumphantly, he locked eyes with his sone and bent down so that once again Severus had to look into his eerily reflective eyes, so that he could faintly see the outlines of his own tear ridden face staring pathetically up at him._

 _"Can't you see what you've done?"_

It was a different face now, different, softer eyes, lighter hair but it was the same expression: the same tears rolling down her face.

Snape slid to the ground, he could barely breath, he stared at his shaking hands: his hands, now matured, he was not a child any longer, his father had been buried for 15 years and his mother for fourteen: they were gone, both of them were gone.

He wanted nothing more than to speak to his mother, to hold her even though she never held him, he wanted to thank her for protecting him the best way she could even though he had never seen it as enough until now.

The scuffling of glass shook him from his reverie and he was forced to look at Hermione again, had to look at the face of an innocent child who had seen too much. His eyes caught red and he took a sharp breath inwards, a shard of glass had caught her ankle, but she did not seem to have noticed, she was instead watching him carefully.

"Hermione" he whispered weakly, reaching out his arms, and to his surprise, she did not hesitate when she leapt into his embrace. They remained like that for many minutes, and when she had began crying into his shoulder he did not shun her, he held her tighter, and continued to battle the tears falling down his own face.

Eventually, once Hermione's tears had ceased and Snape was sure that she was on the brink of sleep, he stood, being careful not to jostle her, and placed her onto his armchair (which Crookshanks was sprawled across also) and turned to fix the mess he had made in the kitchen. The shards of glass returned easily into their previous state, and he wished that it was as easy for him to do so. To say the past two visions had disturbed him would be a gross understatement, they had overwhelmed him, consumed every fibre of his being and energy until he felt that there was nothing left of him, he was a child again; powerless and vulnerable.

Remembering Hermione's injury, he fetched a flesh and skin healing ointment from a cabinet and returned to the well lit side of the room. The child was entranced by the flames of the fire, though shifted her gaze to him, and her eyes were no longer filled with fear, rather caution.

"This is only going to hurt a tiny bit, I'm sure you can handle it" he said quietly, kneeling down. She nodded in response, and when the purple liquid was rubbed against the small wound, she watched with the same fascination the Teenaged Hermione had in lesson, and Snape felt a flicker of a smile on his lips.

"Now it's about time you went to bed" he said, it had been a draining night both physically and mentally, and he hoped that sleep would heal some of emotional wounds he had inflicted on her. She did not protest when he lifted her and took her to his own room where a king-sized bed sat. He pulled back the duvet and lay her down. Snape found that he could not see Hermione in the same light as before the vision of his father, it was as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes, he pushed that knowledge to the back of his mind.

"Are you going to bed too Sev?" Hermione asked tiredly, he winced, no one but Lily had ever called him that affectionally.

"Yes, I am very tired" he admitted, she nodded knowingly and planted a kiss on his cheek before laying back down.

"Night"

"Good night Hermione" he whispered softly.

He left the room wondering how he was supposed to approach the lifetime of emotion and unresolved issues that had been revealed that night.

 **Well...quite a chapter! Snape is such a complicated character so quite difficult to write and had to write and rewrite it a few times, and I wasn't sure whether or not to post this tonight but anyway. I'm sorry for those who would have rather Hermione spent the night in the Gryffindor tower, I can't please every body I know but I promise you will see her interacting with our favourite characters very soon (hint: in the morning). Also, I'm aware that this night in the fic has lasted 2 chapters, and I have so much I want to fit in, including character interactions etc all in a restricted time-span because Hermione will be restored to her rightful age before exams (come on it would be cruel to deny Hermione Granger of her first wizarding qualifications).**

 **Thank you so much for your reviews and ideas, every single one is taken into account I promise, and as you can tell I don't have details planned out, so a large part of this story depends on you!**

 **Anyway, I hope you are all well, and enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Ps- Snape's vision from his childhood, with the line "can't you see what you've done?" is meant to represent how children, when victims of abuse, don't know what they've done to deserve it. There is no logic or reason behind it: only cruelty.**


	11. The Slytherins

De aged Chapter 11

Despite his exhaustion, Snape awoke at the quietest of disturbances, after all: being a spy had taken away any sense of security. Yet after a brief second of gathering his racing thoughts, he kept his eyes shut- curious as to what Hermione was going to do.

She hopped down the three steps leading down from his bedroom, crossed the plush rug and shifted so that she was by his head. She paused, and he could feel her curious gaze burn him, but he waited still and listened to the steady rhythm of her breathing, up until she huffed and kneeled so to scrutinise him further.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked, she squealed and leaped from her spot, though her immediate laughter told him that she was fine.

"You slept for a longgggg time" she said as an explanation, giggling.

"Not long enough" he said, glancing at the clock, which read twenty past six. The pair of them couldn't have had more than two and a half hours sleep to say the least, yet in typical child-like fashion Hermione had bundles of energy.

There was a sharp knock at the door and Snape was up on guard immediately.

"Who is it?" he demanded, very few dared near Professor Snape's quarters, other than,

"Draco, sir"

The 'sir' indicated that he was not alone, his God-Son was far less formal when they were around family, as was the Slytherin way.

"Who is with you?" he asked, watching as Hermione peaked out from the back of his arm chair.

"Pansy, Blaise and Theo, sir"

Ah, Draco's new gang: Crabbe and Goyle had been discarded and for that he was somewhat glad- they were brutish and pitifully dim witted like their death eater fathers, Draco's new friends were off high class and their families were established in the Slytherin community.

"You may enter" he said carelessly, wondering what childish issue they would burden him with today.

Once they did, Hermione moved so that she stood close to Snape, and when her ex classmates so her, they stiffened.

"What's that mud-"

"Finish that sentence and I will ensure that it is the last thing you ever do" Snape barked at Pansy, his wand was raised and pointed at the cocky Slytherin girl, who held a look of alarm for just a moment before batting her long lashes I'm the way she'd been taught by her mother.

Severus Snape's relationship with certain students was entirely based on outer connections, which meant that he was able to choose more unorthodox ways to discipline them: as was desired by their parents (most of whom were death eaters or others wise dark wizards).

"She looks different, I mean-"

"Yes, I believe it is normal for the body to change over the course of child hood and being a teenager, Theadore, it is called growing up" Snape snarled at the lanky boy, who stood straighter in his place.

"My name's Hermione" the four year old stated proudly, trying to ignore how drastically Snape had changed over the course of a few minutes. "Did you know me before I was little?" she enquired,

"Yes...yeah we did" Draco replied reluctantly, Hermione beamed.

"Did you really?! Were we friends?" she asked eagerly. Pansy sniggered, but Hermione's attention was mainly on Draco and Blaise.

"Yes, we were" Blaise answered to the dismay of the others, including Snape. He observed the boy closely in that moment: trying to read his intentions.

"What?" the boy asked innocently, meeting the glare of his head of house.

It was in a Slytherins nature to be cunning, and they were encouraged to get what they wanted in whatever manner possible. Blaise Zabini came from a famously beautiful mother who was widowed 7 times, each of her husbands had died under "mysterious circumstances" though it was common knowledge that she mercilessly killed them in order to make herself and her son richer. If anyone knew how to trick the innocent: it was him. In any other situation, Snape would be dutifully proud that a Slytherin was clearly trying to deceive someone, especially a Gryffindor, but not now, not Hermione

"What is it that you came to see me for? I assume you weren't expecting me to cook breakfast"

Before they could answer, there was a hurried knock at the door once more before it was forced open to reveal two familiar, scruffy Gryffindor boys,

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, running to hug (the legs, that is) of her friends.

There was silence as their eyes skimmed the Slytherin-infested room, and in the distance multiple footsteps could be heard scurrying down the stone stair case.

"He's gonna kill you mate!" came the voice of one Weasley twin

"Do you think I should have burrowed Colin's camera to really capture the moment?" asked the other.

"I'm not having you wankers getting us suspended from Quidditch Practice!" the ferocious voice of Ginny Weasley shouted.

They came to an abrupt halt and accidentally jostled their younger house mates. They too observed the scene with an instinctive uncomfortableness.

"Well..." George Weasley breathed.

"Would you be so kind as to remind me when my private quarters because open to any waif's and strays?" Snape growled,

"McGonagall told us Hermione was with you, so we came as fast as we could" The youngest Weasley boy explained, his face still red from running.

"An, well as you can see Mr Weasley, I have yet to torture nor harm Miss Granger as of yet, so your haste was unnecessary" he drawled.

Hermione didn't understand why Ron was gripping her arm so hard, or why he deliberately stood in front of her so she couldn't see Sevus. However the excitement of having so many friends in one place because too much to keep quiet.

"We should all play together!" she exclaimed, undeterred by the nine sets of eyes staring at her with alarm, "and have a tea party!" she added, "oh Harry please can we".

Before anyone could reply, it was Snape's turn to intervene.

"Now that is a very good idea Hermione. Potter, don't you agree?" The Potions Master said, his thin lips curling.

"His name's Harry, not 'Potter'!" Hermione corrected hastily, the twins and Ginny snickered at her confidence and attitude, knowing that teenage Hermione would sooner jump of a cliff than disrespect a professor, especially Snape.

That being said, the passion in her tone reminded Severus painfully of the hallucination the night before: of Lily, and he found the same angry green eyes glaring at him.

"Very well" he said reluctantly in his usual monotone voice which could never reveal the pain in his chest at that moment, "Harry. Take Hermione to the Gryffindor common room"

"Can't, Umbridge is usually there during school hours" George pointed out, the faces of the Gryffindors changed in unison to that of dread. Professor Umbridge had soon become the bane of their existence, and her rising power was a frequent cause of concern. Yet Hermione's ancient still rang in Harry's mind from years ago: as long as Dumbledore was around, he was safe.

"Well she's never in our common room, but obviously-"

"clever observation Parkinson, bring the your Gryffindor classmates to your common room, and Hermione will be collected before your first lesson"

Speaking of which, Severus had no way of telling when Hermione was to be leaving the castle. From the sounds of it, Minerva was being forced to accompany Dolores every waking minutes, which would undoubtedly place her in a foul mood for the rest of the day. He would surely be able to sneak a note to her over breakfast and gauge what was going on.

"Won't some body surely notice if a bunch of us are gone? Surely only some of us should go" Ron said hastily, he didn't trust the Slytherins around Hermione, not one bit.

"The child wants you all there, and therefor that it what you will do. Unless you are more inclined to have breakfast with Umbridge?" Snape said smoothly, eyebrow arched. Ron gulped and shook his head. "Very well, I will ensure that the common room is free before you enter. But be warned: if I hear of you squabbling with one another, or if so much as a hair on that child's head is hurt, the consequence will make cleaning troll dung look like a blessing. Have I made myself clear?" he demanded in an eerily calm and levelled tone. Each student nodded fiercely, and as he made his out of the door, Hermione called his name and held her arms out to hug him. No, he could not indulge in an act of pure affection, even then, even when the sweet smile on her young face faltered and her eyes looked at him without an inch of judgement.

"Good bye Hermione" he said quickly, before rushing out.

The Slytherin common room could not be more different from Gryffindors had it been in the middle of the Arctic, and it was hard to believe the rooms were in the same castle. The ceilings were high, leather sofas spaced out and green tiles that flashed brilliantly. Slytherins took pride in their cleanliness, that much was clear. There was a line of vulgar looking portraits along the wall who stared at the imposters with disgust.

"I feel like a Snake is gonna creep out from under the floor boards" Ron whispered to Harry nervously.

"Don't be ridiculous Weasley, the snakes only come out at night" Pansy answered smoothly, sitting gracefully onto one of the sofas. It took a moment for Ron to realise she was joking.

"What a bitch" he whispered under his breath.

"Ron, what's a 'bitch'?" Hermione asked sweetly.

Everyone turned silent and watched as Ron's face reddened under Hermione's question. Then George let out an infectious, barking laugh, followed by his twin, and then Blaise, who hardly ever lost his cool exterior. The pattern continued until suddenly everyone was wheezing and spluttering long after they had forgotten what they were even laughing about. Hermione's confused face only made them laugh more.

"Whats so funny?" she demanded, turning to Ginny, "why won't he tell me what a 'bitch' is?"

"Shhh! Hermione you can't say that word okay" Ginny tried to hold some authority in her voice whilst wiping a tear from her eye.

"Why not?"

"Because...because it's a very rude thing to call someone"

"If it was rude then Ron needs to say sorry to Pansy" Hermione concluded, and much to Pansy's enjoyment, Ron blushed heavily. "Go on" Hermione encouraged in the exact tone she had used as a teenager when she frequently bossed the boys around.

"Errr, I'm sorry Pansy"

The Slytherin girl raised a perfectly shaped brow in acknowledgement but otherwise remained silent.

"Now you need to say that you forgive him"

"Excuse me?" she retaliated.

"you have to say that you accept his apology, then you're friends again!" Hermione emphasised her exasperation.

Pansy paused, the child's expectant look alongside the oddly relaxed atmosphere that had occurred between the Gryffindors and Slytherins, she did not feel wish to ruin it.

"I forgive you, Ronald" she said mightily.

Soon, Hermione's attention was diverted to the twins.

"I'm Fred, and he's George"

"You're lying" Hermione accused.

The boys looked at one another, of course they were lying, it was second nature to introduce themselves as the other, to the extent that they forgot their own names on occasion.

"Am not!" they said in unison, making Hermione giggle.

"Are too!" She replied childishly.

"You know what Freddie, we shouldn't be disrespected like this" George sighed dramatically.

"you're absolutely right Georgie"

"You know what I'm thinking?"

Suddenly Hermione was 6 foot in the air, thrown half hazardously on Fred's shoulders as he ran blindly around coffee tables and book stands. Hermione's laughter instantly filled the grand room, which had previously always seemed too big, too quiet. Draco watched in silent fascination at how relaxed his housemates, how they smiled and laughed carelessly. The past few weeks had been tense, particularly for them: Voldemort's return meant that their parents were under a significant amount of pressure, and they're was a never ending anxiety that the Dark Lord would kill them.

Yet in that moment, where Theo and Blaise had joined in on their games, Pansy was laughing freely and even Potter, even Harry, who had been looking somewhat dire these past few weeks, now was revitalised.

The hour progressed in that similar manner, something about Hermione's innocence eradicated the Slytherin-Gryffindor divide that had previously ruled the students lives. Theo and Ron were in an avid conversation about the Chudley Canons. The Twins were explaining to Draco and Blaise how they were making a top of the range brand of sweets to get you out of class, and most surprisingly of all, Pansy found herself showing Ginny how she made her eyeliner wind proof for playing Quidditch.

Harry, however, found himself sitting on the plush window seat that looked over the Lake. The sunrise pierced through the water and made it appear to glow and glitter, and the waves moved in steady motions, yet still he was not relaxed. Then out of nowhere he felt a weight on his crossed legs and looked down to see Hermione; for some reason she had both a Gryffindor and Slytherin loosely tied around her neck, something that made him smile for a reason he did not understand.

"Hi Harry" she said quietly.

"Hi" he replied, hating that he could not be as upbeat and happy as he should be. The fog in his head had made everything blander and more sluggish, weeks since Cedric's death passed indistinguishably, as did the days without Hermione. He missed her, obviously she was here now, but he missed her sitting next to him in class, her nagging him to do his homework, her rational mind and the powerful advice she gave not caring if he wanted to hear it or not.

"Is your scar hurting?" She asked gravely, and his hand instinctively reached to touch it. Before he found the words to ask how she knew, she spoke again, "tell Dumbledore before it's too late" the sincerity of her tone frightened him.

"Too late? What do you mean?" he demanded. Yet the moment was gone, Hermione's face relaxed and she smiled happily.

"Can I try on your glasses?" she asked, and he grinned, it was odd seeing her like this, all the years he had known her before she had been serious and wise beyond her years, always worrying, and although he missed her: he was glad that she was away from Hogwarts and away from Umbridge.

The night before

Shrieking Shack

Remus unzipped the tattered back that he had packed, his body twitching with energy, and the sight of black synthetic fur caught his eye, and when he brought it out for closer examination; his heart burst. He had packed the bag entirely himself and only left it in his room for a moment, meaning that the only person that could have packed Hermione's beloved stuffed toy but Hermione herself. He brought 'Fawkes' to his chest, a wave of her sweet scent hit him, and in that moment; where he stood in the dark and dingy rat infested shack- the thought of Hermione was the only think keeping him human.

He and Sirius sat numbly in the seats across from Dumbeldore, his words registering like daggers in their minds. As much as they tried to look at the bigger picture; Grimmauld Place was vulnerable, meaning that the Order was at risk and would meet to enforce more powerful magic to protect it, the only thing that consumed their ugh to was the sweet little girl who they should have been protecting, who trusted them with all her heart and they had put her at risk.

"Although at this stage I doubt there are many other places safer than Grimmauld Place, aside from perhaps Kingsley's manor" Dumbledore considered.

"She should go" Lupin found himself saying, Sirius turned sharply to face him, his mouth agape, "If it's safer. Get more members to guard it" his mind was screaming at him to shut up, not to say another word, keep Hermione with him and Sirius at all times, but he forced himself to continue, "Or she could go to her parents. It would be near impossible for Voldemort to find her there, like you said Albus, it's clear she misses them, even if it's subconscious. We're being c-cruel to keep her away from them-" his throat burned with the meaning of his words.

"You can't be serious Remus-" Sirius interjected in a panicked tone.

"You know as well as I do that we're being selfish, Sirius. We're forgetting that she's meant to be nearly fifteen, she's Harry's best friend and the brightest witch of her age, and in a few months when she's restored to just that neither of us will be able to let go! It will be easier if we just do it now"

There was a deafening silence. Sirius leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling as if an argument would descend from it, but he had nothing, although his heart broke to admit it: Moony was right. Remus took to meeting Dumbledore's gaze almost defiantly, daring him to argue.

"Of course, the recent events have shown that it would be perhaps beneficial to slow Hermione to see her parents, providing that it isn't too distressing for them. However it is not safe enough to leave her there: now that she is under Voldemort's radar he will have spied on the lookout. Our best hope is proving that she is not worth the fight" The old man paused and stroked his beard thoughtfully, taking in the appearance of the haggard men he had once known as children.

"She makes you happy, doesn't she" he smiled, Remus and Sirius shared a look before nodding, and there was an unmistakable guilt in the Werewolf's eyes. "Then the matter is settled: Hermione is beyond happy to stay with you I'm sure, and once we come,eye further protection on the house, all shall be well" there was a pause, "you know, a famous philosopher once said it heals the soul to be with children". Before either men could react, there was a knock at the door, which swung open accordingly.

Remus's heart burst into a thousand pieces. Hermione was as unscathed and innocent as ever, and the moment she saw them she beamed and ran as fast as she could into Sirius's arms. The embrace was so powerful and heartfelt that both men forgot to be annoyed that it was Snape who had accompanied her.

"Moony" Hermione said tearfully, her arms outstretched for him.

"Hey" he said softly, unable to contain his smile despite his exhaustion. He held her as tightly as he dared, breathing in her comforting scent and losing himself in the safety of it.

"Thought you weren't coming back" she sniffed, and he cupped her cheek in his hand.

"Don't be silly. We couldn't leave you for that long" he smiled. His eyes met Sirius's and they spoke without words, knowing that whatever was to happen, they could overcome, as long as they were together.

Hi! What do you think? As always, let me know! I'm so so excited about this story and I have so many ideas for following chapters :)

I also completed this chapter whilst procrastinating the mountain of work that I should be doing, so wish me luck with that and the week ahead.

Hope you're all doing well.


	12. making up

Hi! before reading, I ask that you spare a few minutes of your time to listen to a masterpiece of our generations called "Without me" by Eminem, and by doing so I feel that you will get a grasp as to how I'm feeling rn.

Anyway! I'm back! I am as always so so sorry for those of you kind enough to leave reviews still or send me messages, it's just that I've had a lot going on over the past few months but mainly I've had writers block tbh. I actually wrote the first half of this chapter in May before abandoning it. Again, I'm really really sorry for taking so long:

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Sirius had never in his life looked forward to returning to Grimmauld Place, yet Hermione's incessant babble that was so full of praise and adoration for the nasty old house eased his dread and filled him with a childish excitement. Even once they arrived within the suffocating smog of the fireplace; the ugly green walls seemed lighter, and the creaking floor boards appeared quirky rather than a burden.

He left Hermione and Remus in the living room as he took their trunks up the many flights of stairs, a faint smile still resting on his lips. He could their conversations from Remus's bedroom, and when Snape's name was mentioned he instinctively tensed; Dumbledore had explained the nature of the incident that caused Hermione to spend the night with his favourite bat of the dungeon, yet it was only Hermione's praise that saved Sirius from fighting him. Then she spoke of her time in the Slytherin common room, and how nice her friends were. Sirius's stomach twisted in knots and he forced himself to focus on the swirl pattern on the ceiling, anything to obstruct the memory forcing itself to him mind.

"Come on Sirius, it will be fun!" a thirteen year old James urged, a familiar grin illuminating his face. Sirius pushed the slight unseals aside and hurried to keep up with his best friend, who was steadily descending down the marble steps to the Slytherin common room, where they had never dared enter before. "How can anyone see down here?" Jame's speculated.

The plan was simple: to humiliate Snivelling Severus Snape, who had, earlier that day, got the pair of them in trouble. All too soon the scruffy Gryffindors arrived at the infamous black doors that led to the Slytherin Common Room. James looked at him, grinning.

"Ready?" he asked

"Ready".

They simultaneously pushed the doors opened to reveal a large, dark room with an air of sophistication about it. It was quiet; despite a group playing exploding snap by a table, many were reading or practicing charms. Amongst them was their target.

Oddly, he looked as lonely as ever. Sat with his scrawny legs crossed and holding a book almost as big as him, he remained invisible even amongst his own kind, and pranking him would make him the target to even more jokes.

The trespassers crept across the outskirts of the room, until they were barely a foot away. Sirius felt the anticipation rising in his chest; he hated the room, he couldn't tell why, perhaps all the dark green reminded him of home, he couldn't tell.

"Sirius!"

The achingly familiar voice felt like a bucket of ice being thrown onto him, he spun around and was met with the longing eyes of his younger brother.

"Reg" He said, in an almost quizzical tone, as if it were him trespassing on the double life that he led.

"What are you doing here? I mean- it's cool here isn't it! Have you been by the window yet? You can see down the Black Lake!" Regulus had never sounded so excited, or young, for as long as Sirius could remember- although he could not remember speaking to his brother since his arrival at Hogwarts.

"Yeah, it's not bad" he said dismissively, although he grinned to let his brother know that he was joking. Regulus laughed, which neither of them did at home, and suddenly Sirius fell in love with Hogwarts all over again for providing a sanctuary in which his brother- his shy, bashful brother who remained in their mothers shadows his entire life, was happy.

The moment did not last.

His hand was snatched away from ruffling Reg's perfectly combed hair, and Sirius felt long fingers slink around his neck and push him against a wall. He heard James shouting in the background, but he was instead lost in the hatred in his cousin's eyes.

Narcissa Black stood at an intimidating 5'9 and her perfectly carved face, complimented by luscious blonde hair, had been the subject to many boys sexual fantasy throughout the school

"So you finally decided to show up?" Narcissa stated with contempt radiating off of her, she loosened her grip on his neck and is read rested it on his chest, so to feel the racing of his heart beat.

"Better late than never" Sirius breathed shakily.

"I thought you hated us? Isn't that what you said at Christmas? Don't you remember Bella?"

Bella, a year her junior, looked manic yet still sinfully beautiful in her intricate green robes.

"Oh yes Cissy, I remember perfectly. Do you Regulus?"

Regulus looked torn, his face was back to being pale and forlorn, he glanced at Sirius's pleading gaze before nodding.

"Well then, I can't think what business you have here unless to cause trouble"

"Not true! I- I'm here to see my brother thank you very much!" he cried indignantly. Narcissa raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow skeptically.

"Is that so? Bella, look through Potter's bag won't you"

James didn't stand a chance, the black haired witch eagerly snatched his satchel from him and emptied it before he could protest, and four unmistakable stink bombs rolled out of it.

Sirius's heart seemed to shatter into a thousand glass pieces when he saw the crestfallen face of his brother.

"You lied... you didn't come to see me. You just came to pull a stupid prank!" Regulus cried, his voice strained. Both Narcissa and Bella fled to him like two birds protecting their young.

"No! Listen, Reg- it isn't like that!"

"Lies!" Bella hissed, holding Regulus protectively beside her.

"It didn't have to be this way Sirius. You know that. You remember what I beg of you every time we go home, is that you come to us, that you join your family" Despite that Narcissa stood at her full height and wore her most threatening look, for a flicker of a second Sirius saw her as she was when they were younger; her innocent eyes and wide smile, teaching him to tie his shoe and play games, but as soon as the memory returned had it gone, and a stranger stood before him, "But I will ask no more. You've made your decision; but to the day you die, you'll always be a traitor"

Sirius breathed in sharply and his hands clenched into fists. The cold, dark sensation of depression and fear shooting through his veins in sharp spikes, but with a surge of energy, he hurried downstairs, part of him was convinced that Remus and Hermione had been a figment of his deluded imagination. He uncharacteristic silence fuelled his fear further, and he swung round the door frame manically, before breathing a sigh of relief.

Both were fast asleep, Hermione was using Remus's arm as a pillow, and his other arm was wrapped around her protectively. It had been many years since Sirius and seen Remus sleep so peacefully; after his release from azkaban all intimacy had been lost and replaced with a purely platonic love of one another, but a part of him worried that Remus only tolerated him because they were all each other had. Sirius pushed the thought to the back of his mind and set on distracting himself from the ache in his chest.

Rather than drinking, he discovered some discarded cleaning products in a cabinet and rigorously cleaned the kitchen, then he dusted the cobwebs in the hall, planted some levitating candles along the staircase to make it less creepy, used all of his mental energy to hex the excess mould that was growing on the corner of every room, and finally he charmed the house to smell of roses, because they reminded him of the endless fields at Hogwarts, which he would most likely never visit again. By seven in the evening Sirius was decidedly bored, and had taken to swinging on his chair in the kitchen; boredom was dangerous however, and it wasn't long until familiar torturous thoughts and memories began to return, he tensed, and held his face in his hands. Not again.

The sound of the door creaking open distracted him instantly, and in appeared Remus, still looking sleepy.

"House smells nice" he noted, flicking the kettle on and collapsing into the chair opposite.

"Thought I'd dry to make it more honestly y'know. I might ask Kingsley to try and get rid of my mother again"

Remus didn't say anything, maybe because he thought it was a lost cause.

"'Mione still sleeping?" he digressed

"Like a baby. Last night was exhausting for her, emotionally and physically. I can't believe the danger she was in" he sighed into his coffee.

"Neither can I. But we have to move on, keep going, otherwise what have we got? The house is guarded now" Sirius pointed out in attempt to assure himself as well.

They sat in silence for a moment, before he spoke again.

"Why didn't you have kids?"

The question clearly caught Remus off guard, and a familiar glint of self hate rose in his demeanour.

"No child deserves to be born with my illness" he said grimly, subconsciously tracing the scars on his neck and face.

"There was always adoption, you know what it's like nowadays, even if it were with another man" Sirius pressed.

"But there wasn't, Sirius, how could there ever have been anyone else, when the only person I've loved in my life did what I thought you did"

A deathly silence formed between them, and Remus was staring at him with what he took to be sorrow and anger.

"I just wanted better for you"

"Ha!" Remus said madly, pushing his hair from his forehead before rubbing his face as though to rub off his thoughts, "Sirius, you spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime you didn't commit, and even though I didn't believe you did it initially, after months and years things changed, and I abandoned you, I left you to rot. Does that not make you angry? I was the only one left, after all" he said bitterly.

"Hate you? Remus, you and Harry were the only things keeping me alive in that hell. Every thought resolved around you, about how it was just you left, the famous marauders were dead and I in prison. I cried for you when I saw the full moon through the window in my cell. I didn't have any room in my heart to hate you"

By this point both men had their palms flat on the table and were staring at one another intently, she long fear and anger bubbled in the room.

"I'm so sorry" Remus' voice cracked, and his eyes turned glassy.

Sirius walked towards him and held him firmly by the shoulders, however his touch instantly went soft, and his hands travelled up Remus's neck until they rested on his unshaven face.

"Look at me" he said softly, although the moment those deep green eyes met his, all the words escaped him, and Sirius found himself lost in the depth of Remus' features; his fair messy brows, the lines etched on his forehead, his lips-

Before either of them could think their lips were entwined, searching hungrily for the warmth of the other. The sensation sent a wave of electric energy though Sirius, and he wrapped his arms around Remus' neck, bringing him closer. Although the movements were different from what they once were, he smelled and tasted exactly as he did when they were fifteen, and of all the scents in the world Sirius would choose nothing over it.

That night, when Hermione was safely tucked in bed, Remus felt a powerful warmth that he had not felt in a long time, and grinned beneath the covers as he heard his bedroom door creak open and the silhouette of his lover lean casually against the door frame before coming closer and climbing into the endless space of the bed that seemed to shrink the moment he pulled Remus closer. The two men said nothing for a while, content knowing that of all the threats the outside world promised; they had each other.

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Okay I'll admit I am dreadful at writing love scenes but I felt obligated for the background of the story (and the wolfstar shippers that follow this story) to include some Remus and Sirius love. I understand quite a few people aren't a big fan/ are neutral, but their romantic relationship won't be a prime focus throughout the story.

I'm introducing a few more characters in the next chapter, I've already chosen but as always i take everyone's suggestions seriously so if they're is anyone/anything you want to see please pm me or leave it in the comment/review section.


	13. AN

Hi guys,

Please don't be angry that this is an authors note although i don't doubt that with time your enthusiasm for this story has probably faded. I'm sorry for being such a negligent writer, however i started writing this story when i was 14 (!) and i am now 17 and i have lost the flow/passion/commitment to this story however i will always be fond of it, particularly because of the amount of positive reviews people wrote! i have read every single one a hundred times and become embarrassingly soppy and overjoyed at all of them so i really cannot thank you enough as it meant to much to 14 year old angsty me as it does to me now.

This story does have a lot of unanswered questions which i had planned to tie up in later chapters, however i don't see that happening. I am more than happy for anyone to adopt this story and finish/adapt it as they wish, i only ask that you let me know so that i can read it myself and announce it to other readers of the story.

That being said, i still love Harry Potter and my tastes, ships and headcanons have of course evolved over time, if i posted any other writing on here would you be interested in reading it? I hope so :)

Also, to the reviewer dicusssing my atrocious grammar i'd like to apologise because i was 14 at the time and writing the entire thing on the keyboard of my phone, as i am now.

thanks for reading,

as always, please review or pm you're thoughts etc-


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